Morning brings bright light, a signal that it’s time to begin the arduous process of getting out of bed, and time to weigh the prospects of perhaps making her way down two steep flights of stairs to break into the daily stream of the neighborhood below her window.
Ginette slowly makes her way down 12th street to a medical appointment a few blocks from her apartment. She has insisted on complete independence, refusing offers of help from passerby who are startled by the sight of her cane and bare feet on a frigid morning. She removed her shoes because she was having heart palpitations, and she thought that the rough shock of the frozen pavement beneath her feet would distract her from the discomfort of the palpitations.
Ginette is a prolific writer and storyteller, and loves to read aloud her exploits as an adult and her feelings regarding her past life and childhood with an abusive parent. Her writing is characterized by her penchant for relating traumatic events with an irreverent and humorous irony, without euphemism or apology.
November 2020….Refusing help, precariously and stubbornly navigating the stairwell alone, and seeking the air of the city, alive with the smells of New York and any interactive experiences she can provoke outside.
This is a very interesting story. Your pictures, as always provide a very intimate representation of her life. More so, you seem to be part of it, not just a distant observer. All these are the key ingredients for a brilliant documentary photographer. Thanks for sharing.
Emotionally impactful photographs. Ginette is intriguing, alluring, compelling. Your images are sensitive and meant with kindness. I really appreciated the sequence and would love to see more.
Suzanne, this is deeply touching & disturbing, as well as beautiful. You have done an incredible job documenting both in written & visual format. You are doing good work in the world and for these people, making visble in raw esthetic what is often passed by. Thank you ♡
This is what I’m going through right now, clearing out my mother’s apartment of things but not her memories. My mother is living in a nursing home. Like Ms. Ginette, my mother cannot take care of herself. The similarity is the same, letting go of nothing; I found bills from 1967. Ms. Ginette writing in her journal books, omg, I found so many journal notebooks in my mother’s apartment, one day I will sit and read them. Suzanne Stein, thank you for this photo documentary about our elder, Ms. Ginette. Your choice to use available lighting sets the tone for the message you want to share, a beautiful body of work.Thank God for Ms. Ginette.
Dear Suzanna, beautiful your work. I am a friend of Ginette. Know her since over 40 years. She mentioned you, and I know it is not always easy to deal with her.
I love what you are doing.
Thank you !
Heidi (from Switzerland and now Atlantic City)
Thank you! Yes Ginette became unfortunately really bad with me. It makes me sad….but I am grateful for the time I spent with her before she began to change. Thank you for your attention to my work!
Great documentary images, would be a great book project
Steve
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This is a very interesting story. Your pictures, as always provide a very intimate representation of her life. More so, you seem to be part of it, not just a distant observer. All these are the key ingredients for a brilliant documentary photographer. Thanks for sharing.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Harsh and yet beautifully caring photos. What a difficult end of life.
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Emotionally impactful photographs. Ginette is intriguing, alluring, compelling. Your images are sensitive and meant with kindness. I really appreciated the sequence and would love to see more.
LikeLike
Suzanne, this is deeply touching & disturbing, as well as beautiful. You have done an incredible job documenting both in written & visual format. You are doing good work in the world and for these people, making visble in raw esthetic what is often passed by. Thank you ♡
LikeLike
This is what I’m going through right now, clearing out my mother’s apartment of things but not her memories. My mother is living in a nursing home. Like Ms. Ginette, my mother cannot take care of herself. The similarity is the same, letting go of nothing; I found bills from 1967. Ms. Ginette writing in her journal books, omg, I found so many journal notebooks in my mother’s apartment, one day I will sit and read them. Suzanne Stein, thank you for this photo documentary about our elder, Ms. Ginette. Your choice to use available lighting sets the tone for the message you want to share, a beautiful body of work.Thank God for Ms. Ginette.
LikeLike
Dear Suzanna, beautiful your work. I am a friend of Ginette. Know her since over 40 years. She mentioned you, and I know it is not always easy to deal with her.
I love what you are doing.
Thank you !
Heidi (from Switzerland and now Atlantic City)
LikeLike
Thank you! Yes Ginette became unfortunately really bad with me. It makes me sad….but I am grateful for the time I spent with her before she began to change. Thank you for your attention to my work!
LikeLike