Photographer Documents the Unpredictable Journey of Her Brothers Battle with Leukemia

Published into a book this year by Kehrer Verlag, Related Donor /Donneuse apparentée is Swiss photographer Sarah Carp‘s deeply personal body of work, an intimate chronicle of life, love, and loss. Carp began documenting her brother Henri from the day he was diagnosed with leukemia until his death just one year later. The mix of imagery oscillates between hope and helplessness, capturing the unpredictability of a journey unfolding. Within a story so powerful and private, Carp is gracious to let us in. Below are her words, equally as emotive and poignant as the work.

During illness, to live becomes a constant quest. My camera became my best friend. It served as a barrier between myself and the world. It watched me during my stem cell donation to my brother and it accompanied and joined us together during this whole life experience. At the beginning it was me who felt the need to photograph him. At the end it was he who asked to be photographed.

One single identical chromosome and we are compatible and tied together forever. This gift allows me to offer hope and to fight my own feeling of powerlessness. Under the sheets, the metamorphosis happens slowly. The blood flows through the intravenous line and enters his body. In the hope of a rebirth, a battle takes place in the darkness of his cocoon. A butterfly appears. Henri followed his path, he left faster than expected.

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