Jacqueline Hellmann

I began photographing with a view to try to save Cizzi. I thought that my hard work would have a strengthening effect and that I would be able to help Cizzi and everyone else who is suffering.

A story about social ideals, involuntary commitment and longing

They would recover automatically. (https://fotografiska.woo.flewid.se/exhibition/the-unbearable-lightness-of-being/) When I didn’t reach my goals, reality sunk its claws into me. It didn’t matter how many letters I wrote or how often I tried to tempt her with stories of how good life can be. I couldn’t help her. The only thing I got was pictures. That’s how the story of Cizzi began. A story about social ideals, involuntary commitment and longing. A depiction not just of her but of friendship. Our friendship.

I have to photograph in order to remember, to understand, to show that I have lived. I want to photograph my time, to present that which is otherwise not shown. My pictures are taken by someone who seeks and who wants so much, but really, it’s no more than that. Sometimes the camera is my right arm, sometimes it’s just a camera. I came straight from high school and had no relationship to the world of photography. In the last three years I have learnt everything, and the most important thing has been all the people I have met, which have helped me move on. It’s a personal journey that has just begun.

-Jacqueline Hellmann