Sarah Haydon Roy (b. 1985) is an interdisciplinary artist based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. 

Having spent the bulk of her career working on independent films or larger network productions as a Costume Designer, Sarah recently returned to her roots in the visual arts. An aggressive cancer diagnosis in 2023 put her design career on hold and she quickly found comfort retreating to her small home studio. 

As she made her way through treatments, this new practice became an integral part of her care. What started as a need for balance turned into an evolving series exploring the connection between art and healing - both the process of making it and the act of viewing it.  

This practice began during some disorienting days post surgery when one of the first things Sarah noticed were the antiseptic stains on her skin. They were applied to her new chest wall like washes of paint on paper. By re-contextualizing these solutions as art materials, Sarah’s perspective on this painful time began shifting. She started experimenting with these medicinal solutions in her studio, re-purposing them as inks. Initially the smell reminding her of hospital settings and tricking her mind into thinking that healing was happening. She later realized that it actually was.

Sarah continues to incorporate iodine and chlorhexidine in her work, layering them with graphite, paint and traditional inks.