Ending

Life took a real turn when as 64-year-old, I learned that I might have pancreatic cancer. During the struggle that followed, I initiated a project where I, through the use of images, conveyed not only the emotional roller-coaster of dealing with the illness, but also the coming to terms with the harsh realisation that the ageing process had really taken its toll. From the start, the focus was not only on dealing with the fact that life was coming to an end – a thought stemming from the anxiety attacks brought on by years of career stress. The act of photographing also constituted a form of therapy, and the images also came to depict the true significance of my forty-year relationship with my partner. It's really about how you piece it all together: The anxiety attacks in the wake of the realisation that one is ageing rapidly, while at the same time seeing the light in a relationship. My images are more about the thoughts triggered by the disease than the disease itself. The project Ending does not present conclusive answers – everyone can delve in with their own history and experiences, and my hope is that the project can offer the viewer a sense of perspective regarding their own lives and ageing processes. 2017 the project has become the book Ending. It’s about death and what goes on in a man's mind after extensive cancer surgery and coming out on the other side and given a ”second chance” in life. The second chance meant photography and at last giving in for the life long desire to create art. It has taken six years to get the book ready. I have started new projects of which one continues where the Ending project ends, which hopefully will be published as a book during 2017. Follow my work at www.leifsandberg.com!