So Be It.
A photo series about breast cancer, scars, and medical paternalism.
(2023 - present)
The collaboration between Sandra and me began on a terrace in Utrecht in 2023. While sharing our stories, Sandra spoke candidly about her ongoing battle with breast cancer, a process stalled by complications but met with her signature "let’s do this" attitude. She felt a deep disconnect between her own down-to-earth nature and the "velvet glove" approach of the medical world, which often felt patronizing and overly sentimental.
Frustrated by the one-dimensional, "victim" imagery typically associated with the disease, Sandra sought a way to reclaim her narrative. Together, we began a visual journey to document her experience not as a tragedy, but as a complex reality filled with both pain and defiance.
So be it is a raw, artistic response to the "soft" way breast cancer patients are often treated, rejecting the "fragile patient" stereotype in favor of a more authentic story. By using bold, surreal metaphors, such as melting ice cream representing a lost nipple or a breast-shaped tumor made of bubblegum, we create a new visual language that embraces both scars and humor.
Through a mix of striking portraits and metaphorical still lifes, the project captures Sandra’s journey with the same bluntness and resilience she uses to face life. It stands as an empowering rejection of the "sad survivor" cliché and a visual protest against medical paternalism, focusing instead on reclaiming one's own body, identity, and story.
