Their numbers are burgeoning globally. Older women increasingly find themselves left home alone by spouses who predecease them and grown children who leave to find better jobs. With candor and empathy, I have been chronicling these isolated, aging women in Romania and Bulgaria. Bosnia and Serbia are next. In portraits honoring the effects of time etched into their wrinkled skin, swollen hands, and bent bodies, I show the tenacity of these solitary women. Each one is the keeper of their family’s history, a living legacy of antiquated cultures on the brink of disappearance.
I am a humanitarian photographer. I use my camera to amplify the voices of individuals and communities often marginalized by society. I am drawn to the human experience, casting light on lives concealed in the shadows. My work exemplifies the transformative power of this medium as I search for fleeting instances of grace and beauty that persist even amid life’s most significant challenges. Through my lens, I become a storyteller, an advocate, and a conduit for change, inviting viewers to journey into the worlds I capture. In doing so, I illuminate the threads that weave us all together.
