Janne van Gilst used Syb as a starting point for her research into anthrax groves: landscape elements that mainly occur in the Northern provinces of the Netherlands and mark the place where, until the 19th century, anthrax-infected cattle were buried. After calls in local media, Janne received numerous tips about anthrax groves near Beetsterzwaag.

She photographed them and then developed and printed them in her home-built darkroom in Kunsthuis Syb. She did this using the 19th-century photographic technique cyanotype, or blueprint, which slowly fades away.

Photographer Janne van Gilst (Colijnsplaat, 1991) grew up on the island of Noord-Beveland in Zeeland. There, she developed an awareness of the landscape with which she is surrounded. Since studying Documentary Photography at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague, she has been photographing her changing surroundings. In this way she reflects on the cultural zeitgeist and how it relates to the way we shape and experience our surroundings. Previously she worked on projects about regional stories, agricultural traditions and man’s urge to control and subdue the landscape. Her work is regularly published and exhibited nationally and internationally.