Olena Morozova

Maria
2016-2020

This project is about my daughter, our dreams and our feelings.

I started photographing Maria in 2016. And it is still an ongoing work in progress. In fact, this story begins in my own childhood.

When I was a kid, my sister and I were often playing  together, imagining ourselves being moms of our dolls. We had a very strong and emotional connection. As a child, I used to dream, about the time when we would grow up and would play with our daughters all together.

However, the destiny decided otherwise. Unfortunately I lost my sister in a horrific accident.  One week later my daughter was born. A difficult period of mixed emotions and feelings has come. The woe from the loss of my beloved sister and the happiness from the birth of my beloved daughter were strangely intertwined. My little Maria filled the insufferable void.

Now I have my little girl with whom we play, fool around, dress up, make up stories, we are always on the same wavelength. Together with my daughter, my inner-child was reborn.

Watching my baby grow, I recognize myself in her, and I am re-living some of my own childhood moments. At the same time, I see a woman in her from the day she was born. In all her achievements, impulses, hobbies, judgments, views, the feminine essence is coming through. Maria for me is all at once – a daughter, a sister, a friend, and a muse. I see in her a particle of myself and my continuation.

I really enjoy taking pictures of my daughter in various emotional states and her different personalities. These moments of our creative interactions bring us closer together, help us to better understand each other, and are very inspiring.