Monia

This work is a photographic portrait of my sister’s life, Monia. She was born with a traumatic brain injury caused by the use of forceps during the delivery, which caused an irreversible trauma. Today, my sister is 45 years old and she has never been independent. The existential consequences of severe disabilities are lack of self-sufficiency and consciousness in the basic vital functions; in other words, the reality of my sister's life has all the connotations of the neonatal period.

Having a sister with a disability is a crucial and unique experience. It is hard to explain the importance and intensity of this special bond made of codes, silence, looks, old games and new ways of living as grown up. Photographing Monia is an act of knowledge and research. It is a way to understand her: what she thinks and what she wants and expects in life.

I would go beyond the disability. I want to speak about the condition of a woman who lives in a different way. In a world away from everything else, solitary, confined, but not empty, where time is made up of moments, to present that does not need to project into the future. I want to try to offer a different point of view compared the disability and the way to live in disability. The opportunity to reflect on the possibility that a different life from our own is not necessarily worse.