You can be the Dad

Using photography as a means of storytelling, ‘You can be the Dad’ explores the psyche of an eldest child.

'You can be the Dad’' is an exploration into the role of a mother, particularly the ways in which I feel maternal towards my younger sister, and how motherhood is something that is fluid within my household. It delves into the role of a caregiver, and what happens when the carer constructs a situation in which they become the cared for. It highlights the strength that lies within female dominated households as they fuse together in the absence of a man. I have been utilising this time photographing her sister to relive moments of childhood I feel I've lost, as I see myself in the young woman my sister is becoming.

I'm constructing the narrative in this project, as I so often find myself in the role of the carer when I long to be cared for. Therefore I've begun invading my mothers space, and inserting myself in place of her work and chores in order to force myself to be cared for.

Blending my carefully constructed images with the unedited images from a point and shoot camera I gave to my sister for this project, I'm exploring our relationship and dynamic by showing the two different perspectives. I'm showing the ways in which I view her, as an adult views a child, and the ways in which she views me, as a child views an adult.

This project has taught me that I see myself in Thea, and the more she grows up the more I see that. This project has indirectly become a documentation of myself through my sister.