Sedated by Saskia van den Boom

Ad (65) was born in Rotterdam with his parents and two brothers. When he was around 20 years old, he started hanging out with the 'tough boys'. There was heroin. He thought: if I get addicted, I'll just stop. But it was good, oh so good.

Magazine

Our printed editions, circulating throughout various galleries, festivals and agencies are dipped in creativity.

The spirit of DODHO’s printed edition is first and foremost an opportunity to connect with a photographic audience that values the beauty of print and those photographers exhibited within the pages of this magazine.

We invite professional and amateur photographers from all around the world to share their work in our printed edition.

https://www.dodho.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/ban28.jpg

Ad (65) was born in Rotterdam with his parents and two brothers. When he was around 20 years old, he started hanging out with the ‘tough boys’.

There was heroin. He thought: if I get addicted, I’ll just stop. But it was good, oh so good. He started using more and more. By the time he found out he was addicted, it was already too late. That was forty years ago. 

I got to know Ad in the park in Amsterdam and was immediately curious about what his life would look like, perhaps because of his charming and open appearance. I walked up to him and said I would like to get to know him and photograph him. 

Ad’s days all look more or less the same. He wakes up in the afternoon and smokes heroin to feel better. In the evening Ankie comes by, an alcoholic friend from the neighborhood, or else he goes to his drinking friends in the parc. Sometimes he does nothing at all, except watch a movie.

Now that Ad is getting older, he thinks more about his life. He is afraid that his memory will deteriorate further. And what’s left of him then? The more he uses, the more passive he becomes. Although his memory troubles him, Ad hardly looks ahead; he lives from day to day. Sometimes he thinks, fine if I die tomorrow. But, he thinks, I have no legacy. Except: “Ad was a junkie.” He wanted to get more out of life. If he’d spent a quarter of the time he spent on dope and booze in college, he’d have been a graduate like his brother.

Ad still has a small glimmer of hope that something special will happen. He regularly mentions that he wants to be on stage as a stand up comedian one day. [This series was published in the newspaper of Amsterdam, Het Parool]

About Saskia van den Boom

Photography is a for Saskia van den Boom a way to tell personal stories. Stories that often touch on broader themes such as loneliness, love and addiction. She photographs to broaden her own view and to learn from other peoples live. The camera is a tool to get to know the other. With the photos she wants to give the viewer insight into the lives of others and show what connects us. Her photos feel intimate and pure and often have a raw edge. Saskia’s portraits and social reports are used for publications in newspapers and magazines. She was selected and on the cover of Gup New Talent 2022. Besides her work as a photographer, she works as a press officer at OLVG, the city hospital of Amsterdam. [Official Website]

Other Stories

stay in touch
Join our mailing list and we'll keep you up to date with all the latest stories, opportunities, calls and more.
We use Sendinblue as our marketing platform. By Clicking below to submit this form, you acknowledge that the information you provided will be transferred to Sendinblue for processing in accordance with their terms of use
We’d love to
Thank you for subscribing!
Submission
Dodho Magazine accepts submissions from emerging and professional photographers from around the world.
Their projects can be published among the best photographers and be viewed by the best professionals in the industry and thousands of photography enthusiasts. Dodho magazine reserves the right to accept or reject any submitted project. Due to the large number of presentations received daily and the need to treat them with the greatest respect and the time necessary for a correct interpretation our average response time is around 5/10 business days in the case of being accepted.
- Between 10/30 images of your best images, in case your project contains a greater number of images which are part of the same indivisible body of work will also be accepted. You must send the images in jpg format to 1200px and 72dpi and quality 9. (No borders or watermarks)
- A short biography along with your photograph. (It must be written in the third person)
- Title and full text of the project with a minimum length of 300 words. (Texts with lesser number of words will not be accepted)
This is the information you need to start preparing your project for its presentation
To send it, you must compress the folder in .ZIP format and use our Wetransfer channel specially dedicated to the reception of works. Links or projects in PDF format will not be accepted. All presentations are carefully reviewed based on their content and final quality of the project or portfolio. If your work is selected for publication in the online version, it will be communicated to you via email and subsequently it will be published.
Contact
How can we help? Got an idea or something you'd like share? Please use the adjacent form, or contact contact@dodho.com
Thank You. We will contact you as soon as possible.
Submission
Dodho Magazine accepts submissions from emerging and professional photographers from around the world.
Their projects can be published among the best photographers and be viewed by the best professionals in the industry and thousands of photography enthusiasts. Dodho magazine reserves the right to accept or reject any submitted project. Due to the large number of presentations received daily and the need to treat them with the greatest respect and the time necessary for a correct interpretation our average response time is around 5/10 business days in the case of being accepted. This is the information you need to start preparing your project for its presentation.
To send it, you must compress the folder in .ZIP format and use our Wetransfer channel specially dedicated to the reception of works. Links or projects in PDF format will not be accepted. All presentations are carefully reviewed based on their content and final quality of the project or portfolio. If your work is selected for publication in the online version, it will be communicated to you via email and subsequently it will be published.
Get in Touch
How can we help? Do you have an idea or something you'd like to share? Please use the form provided, or contact us at contact@dodho.com
Thank You. We will contact you as soon as possible.