Saskia was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2002. She underwent a breast amputation, chemotherapy, radiation and hormone therapy and later a diep flap breast reconstruction, using tissue from her belly wall.
Early 2018 the breast cancer returned in her abdomen, in which hormone-sensitive metastases were found. It’s the best of all bad scenarios. There is no cure, various forms of medication keep it under control. From that moment on I follow Saskia with my view camera, raw and intimate. And photograph the places, objects and loved ones that are important to her. For this I draw 4 x 5 inch polaroid negatives that are hand printed double sided with platinum palladium on cotton paper, collected in one unique artist‘s book.
‘what’s comin’
Hagrid
will come
and we’ll
meet it when
it does’
“This quote fully reflects how I feel in life, you live it, you enjoy it. Joy, love and sorrow come your way. Looking back with regret, getting angry about things done doesn’t make much sense, it is ruining your life right now. This certainly does not mean that I am indifferent to life and shrug or even let my shoulders hang. No… .. I go for it and enjoy it to the full. Even now, years after myinitial diagnosesI was told that unfortunately breast cancer was returning and metastases were found in my abdomen. I don’t want this, of course not. It makes me sad, sure. But even now my emotion is mostly optimistic and positive. As I write this it is spring, new life is beginning but it is also fleeting. That makes life valuable.”
“Enjoy every breath of wind, every ray of sunshine, every drop of rain and especially each other. Life is Beautiful!”
Saskia passed away on July 15, 2022
Jul 3– 31 Mar 2021
Empathie | Geen mens is een eiland
Museum IJsselstein — IJsselstein
Netherlands