SANDBERG, Leif - Ending

“He said:
time for me to die
oh well
time for me to live
oh well
and then he stepped into the image
died his way in, as he had into life” (© Bob Hansson)

"From a poem in the newly published book 'Ending', a photo essay about panic disorder, getting old and cancer, but also about a long rewarding relationship. (...)

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. (...)

'Ending' does not present conclusive answers – everyone can delve in with their own history and experiences, and my hope is that the book can offer the viewer a sense of perspective regarding their own lives and ageing processes.” (© Leif Sandberg)

"Leif SANDBERG (*1943) is an ordinary person, but a truly extraordinary photographer.
Life took a real turn when he at the age of 64 learned that he might have pancreatic cancer. During the struggle that followed, he initiated a project where he, 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 his 40-year relationship with his partner. (...)

'Ending' is Leif SANDBERG’s story of receiving news of a life threatening disease and of dealing with the ageing process. Sandberg has created an oeuvre that is urgent both with regard to content and the medium itself.
The photo book 'Ending' is Leif Sandberg’s debut. Ending also features a poem by Bob Hansson inspired by Leif Sandberg’s story. (...)

Leif SANDBERG has participated in work- shops with, among other notables, Anders PETERSEN, JH ENGSTRÖM, Roger BALLEN and Antoine D’AGATA. Over the course of these workshops, the material slowly emerged, and the series 'Ending' eventually resulted in well-received exhibitions at the Landskrona Photo Festival 2014 and at Galleri Ralf in Stockholm 2013/14. 'Ending' is Leif SANDBERG’s first monograph and he is currently working on a project that picks up where this book leaves off." (publisher's note, © Boecker, 2017)