jon describes his mother as a “gracious and cooperative subject”, and that these photographic sessions gave the two of them a special opportunity to sit and chat about both recent and long ago family events.
jon’s mother passed away in may of 2007. he continued to photograph in and around the house, focusing on the details of her life that she had left behind.
“i returned to the house in may, 2009, right before it was sold. by that time, all the furniture, cigar boxes, finger paintings and other mementos of our lives together had been packed up and cleared out. the rooms were empty and quiet. all that remained were memories dancing in the late afternoon light.”
we worked with jon on developing the story of his mother’s relationship to the house using the progression of photographs beginning with his mother’s strong presence throughout, which then slowly, page by page, begins to disappear.
i chose to use the most minimal design elements throughout this book so as not to interrupt the relationship between jon and his mother.
