Press comments

"Schels' portraits capture the basic humanity of men and women approaching their deaths. Although the photographs acknowledge the inevitability of death, they also celebrate life." Colin Martin, Lancet

"This project succeeded in throwing some light on to the subject that is perhaps most worthy of examination, and certainly most obscured, in human experience: the great mystery of death itself. And it's a mystery of equal significance wherever in the world."

Joanna Moorhead, Guardian

"This collection of portraits must have taken courage, patience and sensitivity: from the subjects, as well as from Schels and Lakotta. Through their honest accounts, we have extraordinary access to the thoughts, experiences and ultimately fears that face those with a terminal illness." Lara Holmes, Royal Photography Society Journal

"Schels' tasteful, powerful images lend his subjects dignity while Lakotta's words, which include comments from those photographed, reveal the variety of ways in which people face their end." Diane Smyth, British Journal of Photography

"A stunning series of portraits of people — shortly before and after they die — is touring Europe, and tackling one of the biggest remaining taboos in Western societies." Lens Culture

"Live and deceased portraits with a unique, tangible and affecting weight, balanced on the border between honesty and tenderness. Rather than romanticizing or confronting us with a stark reality these images invite the viewer to engage directly with death on a deeply personalized basis, and at the same time allow just enough emotional distance and perspective for more abstract ruminations on mortality in general."  Aaron Schuman, foam