When It Is Over We Will Celebrate
In March 2020, I came home for spring break to visit my best friend in our hometown of Phoenixville, Pennsylvania. I was only supposed to stay for a week. I ended up living there for five months. In an unexpected delay in getting back to New York, I was also finishing up three photo projects for class, and was told to turn my camera outside of my proverbial lightbox, and onto the one thing I could tell the story of: the family I was living with. The result ended up being 300 photos and a detailed family narrative; a narrative that so brazenly declared “we are here, we have suffered, and we are okay.”
This 50-page photo book follows the Hesse family through their daily struggles in quarantine, and their radical and sometimes uncanny perseverance among the odds they have been dealt. The story follows six main characters: Wendy, 58, the mother of the family, and her children, Phillip, 33, Carolyn, 29, and her daughter, Anya, six, Rachael, 21, and Connor, 18, as they navigate the past year. Mentioned as well are her ex-husband, Ron, 60, and her middle son, Ryan, 24, both of whom I was unable to reach for comment. The story tracks their daily life in quarantine, It chronicles themes such as divorce, miscarriage, death, mental health, and disability, but also the innate ability they have to heal and love one another: a radical acceptance that they have paid the price for.
To read the full story, check out this link to view the PDF. An updated version will be posted to her website in the coming weeks, and will be available for order as a physical book.
