What is normally associated with destruction takes on a completely new meaning in the exhibition “Crosshairs for Life” at the Kunstmuseum Bonn: In her new series, renowned photographer Herlinde Koelbl presents 40 powerful portraits and transcripts of conversations with cancer patients. The focus is on the lines drawn on the skin during radiation therapy—symbols that, in this context, do not serve to kill, but to ensure survival.
Signs of Hope
The starting point for this work is Koelbl’s own battle with cancer. The markings on her body reminded her of her earlier military photography project “Targets.” Drawing on this stark contrast, she developed, through intimate conversations with patients of various ages and backgrounds, a moving documentary about fear and hope, about physical and emotional changes, vulnerability, shifting relationships, but also about optimism and new perspectives.
For many of the participants, simply talking about it was an important step in itself. The moving portraits that Koelbl created of the participants after a period of recovery focus on the experience of living with cancer, break a social taboo, and encourage an open, honest confrontation with the disease.
