Destined for art
Chang underwent an 11-hour operation to remove her tumor. To fully excise the mass, the surgeon had to cut the nerves that were enveloped by the tumor before going on to repair them, and the operation was followed by 12 high-intensity doses of chemotherapy. The pain Chang had to endure while her nerves were recovering, and the severe side effects of the chemotherapy, made her want to give up on life.
Having been through this dreadful experience, Chang says: “The desire to live is what gives you the strongest motivation to go on.” Whenever she found herself in a ditch during her cancer treatment, art was a major preoccupation that helped her keep fighting for life. When, at one point, she had almost lost all confidence in herself, a younger friend at her university came to see her, bringing a drawing board she had left behind in Hualien. “If you don’t know what to do, do something you enjoy,” said the friend.
Following her friend’s suggestion, Chang took up drawing again. Little did she know that her creations would generate enthusiastic responses in her ward. Not only did the nurses lavish praise on her artworks, her fellow patients were also keen to own her impromptu sketches of human figures. “The moment I was given praise, I realized that I wasn’t just a patient; I wasn’t someone who had to rely on others for everything. Rather, there were things I could do,” Chang recalls.
With limited physical mobility, Chang particularly enjoys drawing architecture from across the world, which enables her to travel in her imagination. She has also designed Little Bu, an “IP character” modeled on herself and immediately recognizable as her creation.
Even though Little Bu embodies her creator’s spirit, it is noticeable that her hairstyle and outfit—the double buns on her head and the gorgeous magenta blouse she wears—do not bear any resemblance to Chang’s own appearance. For Chang, Little Bu isn’t merely a straightforward replica of herself. To put it more accurately, the character is Chang’s alter ego.
Chang never stopped creating art during her time in the ward. At the suggestion of a relative of a fellow patient, she turned her works into a calendar for sale. More than a hundred copies were sold in the first year. This adventure also led to new opportunities for exhibitions and publications, introducing Chang to many kindhearted people who have helped her along the way. Little Bu “has helped me achieve a lot of things I couldn’t have done on my own,” she says. It was indeed Little Bu who launched Chang’s exciting new career.
The journal Chang kept while she was receiving cancer treatment features images with uncolored figures against gorgeously colorful backgrounds. In her view, “we have to fill in the colors of our own lives.”