Snail Mail Cyanotypes
A closer look at Sarah Ketelaars' The 544
“We are making photographs to understand what our lives mean to us.” — Ralph Hattersley
A few weeks ago, I wrote about my paper addiction and how much I appreciate printed photography. I was reminded of that again when I found a package from photographer Sarah Ketelaars in the mailbox this afternoon. She made my day with these handmade prints, and I wanted to pay it forward by sharing her work with you.
Sarah is based in Brighton, England, and it always delights me to learn that someone in another country reads FlakPhoto. When that happens, the world gets smaller, something I don’t take for granted. It’s important to remember how connected we are, especially when social media can be so isolating.
Sarah makes cyanotypes. I love this technique because they are exquisitely beautiful objects, and blue is one of my favorite colors. She wrote to tell me about a body of work she’s producing called The 544. Here’s how she describes it:
This ongoing project is a memorial to 544 psychiatric patients murdered by the Nazis in 1941 in Latvia. The figurative images I’ve made are all cyanotypes, there are currently over 250 images in the series and eventually there will be one for each man, woman and child killed.
My grandmother was working at the hospital from where the patients were taken. I have visited the hospital and found that although the story is known no memorial exists. The only official record seems to be a short paragraph in the Nuremberg report, and so far, I have found no record of the names. Using a historic photographic process feels fitting for a project examining a historical event. An ancient pagan Latvian folk symbol is drawn on by hand in gold ink on each piece.
It is impossible for me to look at these images without thinking about how the lives of these people ended; however, the project is primarily intended as a memorial. I wanted the images to hint at some more celebratory moments, to remember the lives lived before these people entered the hospital before they died.
Not knowing anything about the the identities of the dead, I have tried to imagine each one as a unique, precious being, to try and give each back a little of the character stripped from them when they were murdered and reduced by history to a number on a list of nameless victims.
Thanks so much for writing, Sarah, and for sharing your work with me. These are potent images. You can see more of The 544 on Sarah’s website and follow the virtual museum she created on Instagram here.
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About the photographer
Sarah Ketelaars is a photographer and artist from Brighton, England. She has a BA degree and an MA in English Literature from Jesus College, Cambridge, an MSc in Social Science from Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen, and a Diploma in Photography from City College, Brighton.
Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally and is represented by Trevillion Images & Getty and 35 North Gallery in Brighton. When she's not making photographs, Sarah likes to hike, is an avid reader, and enjoys partying with friends.
One more thing…
I’m giving away a copy of
’s new book in the newsletter later this week. You will need to subscribe for a chance to win. Stay tuned!
The forgotten people lost to war surely must be the ultimate tragedy, no one to mourn their loss, no grave or marker with their name, in this case only the artists family connection has shone a light on the awful plight of these lost nameless souls. A critical and poignant way to remember them.
Wonderfully powerful images, the raw process of the image creation mirrors beautifully the raw emotions they each must have felt. Bravo for giving them eternal life through your creativity. Most Sincerely, Lauren