You Felt the Roots Grow

A personal record of a time between hope and grief. It explores notions of belonging, illness and absence through the documentation of the artist's family.

You Felt the Roots Grow is a personal record of a time between hope and grief. It explores notions of belonging, illness and absence through the documentation of my family.

Told from the perspective of a daughter, I used photography and text to visualise and describe the life alongside the cancer of my father. The work draws a connection between the human body and nature. With symbols of growth and decay found in the surroundings of our home, I started to imagine and understand the hidden cancer in a poetic way.

Whilst my sister became a mother, and we were happy to see the newborn life grow, my dad slowly became weaker. Things were uncontrollable and felt very much out of hand during this time. With the means of photography and text, I tried to regain some control over the narrative and the memories that we are left with.