A story about converting “Nothing bad could happen to my dad” to “an ending without an ending”.
About optimism: it’s a waste of energy and goodwill while we assume the negative…unless it is actually proven.
A glow inside him which reasurred him everything would be ok. This glow was also the motivation for the photographing journey towards death – look at full half glass together.
Decision of photographing dying dad: most agonizing aspect of the grief. Was based on sharing feelings. Dad thinks about what means for him to be a good dad: help daughter to pursue her ambitions(so she doesn’t regret what she didn’t share) People rarely talk about their experiences of death,sadness or family struggles. I realized that I enjoyed the majority of humanity who knew feeling of great loss. That wasn’t something to keep quiet about. The project could be as universal as personal.
What does mean photography to me? A way of sharing my inner world , to communicate myself.
What kindness does it mean to me? Not running from my grief, from my emotions, assume them and decide for a position. To be… or not to be that’s the question – Hamlet.
About shooting
- narration of my moods occurred
- these photos would speak only back to me , not beyond – How could I show explicitly what I was feeling?
- the fact I couldn’t shoot everything was the story
- need words to reveal weight of the story outside the frames
My emotions became my map. As involved with my dad involved with my camera.
At what point optimism becomes denial?
My dad has become a continuous presence but not a heavy one. I felt no disadvantage in staying with memories. They enrich me rather than depress me.
Adelina Gelu C&N 