Series - FotoSlovo 2025 - Category « Documentary / Reportage »

As a kid, I was taught to respect our elders; that hasn't changed for me as an adult. When my grandmother Mattie was diagnosed with dementia, my family and I’s world got turned upside down, and our conversations with her stopped. I started photographing "Mattie's World" to connect with her and learn things about her life that she could no longer tell me. I’m investigating the woman she was before the disease from an adult standpoint. Making connections between the past and the woman my grandma Mattie had inspired me to photograph.

I’m a granddaughter looking for answers but as I investigated I saw her as a Christian, wife, mother, and sister and not just my grandmother. I documented her house as she left it in black and white, representing her timeless legacy. The things we leave behind tell the world what kind of person we are. Every time I step into her house, I feel her love even though she’s not here anymore. I never knew what I would discover in her belongings.