SON

SON was born from fear and my inability to accept my autistic son. Through photography, I learned to see him as he is and discover the beauty of his difference. A personal story that asks society to reflect on accepting difference.

SON is a long-term personal project about my son, who is on the autism spectrum, and my journey as a mother—from the difficulty of accepting his diagnosis and fearing his future to accepting him as he is. For years, that fear created an emotional distance between us.

Photography became a way to move closer to my son and discover a world he experiences differently from me. Through the camera, I began to look beyond my expectations of what his life should be and to see the beauty, sensitivity and uniqueness of his way of being. The most difficult part was realizing that he was not the one who needed to change—I was.

The visual language of SON is built around contrasting states I observe in him: closeness and withdrawal, vulnerability and strength, calm and sudden intensity, a desire for connection and a need to remain in his own world. I seek fragmented, dreamlike and surreal images that evoke this complex world and invite curiosity about different ways of experiencing reality. The gradual emergence of color reflects both the change in my perception of him and his growing connection with the outside world.

Although deeply personal, SON speaks to an experience shared by many parents: letting go of expectations in order to see the person their child truly is. It also asks how we see those who experience the world differently. If fear of difference can create distance between a mother and her own child, how easily can it create distance between a person who is different and society?