Anna Yarrow
ASLEEP/AWAKE
Asleep
I needed to pause time. Find space within my mother-role. Feel something beyond duty, responsibility, and the work of parenting.
I remember when it clicked: the camera capturing my growing love for a sleeping two-year-old zipped up warm in her footie pajamas. An image that said wonder-essence-beauty-being. My wild-by-day daughter turned calm and still.
These portraits were created with tenderness and awe.
Awake
When my daughter comes home after weekends at her Dad's house, she asks, "Mom, did you write anything while I was away? Did you update your blog? Can I read it? Can I look at your photos?"
Over the past year, the act of writing, taking pictures, and turning our lives into Art has created a huge positive shift in our relationship. Seeing. Listening. Sharing our feelings and experiences. We've found a way to play together.
I document her intensity; her sometimes fierce interaction with me and the world.
"Mom, do you wish I didn't have Aspergers? " No. Autism/Aspergers isn't as big and scary to me anymore. Some days the symptoms are loud and it's useful to have an explanation. Most days we simply dwell in our version of normal.
I look at the portraits I've taken and feel teary pride and joy for this daughter-child. We've traveled through crisis and disconnect, and landed here to celebrate what is.
On her 9th birthday:
