Aletheia Casey

WHICH WAY IS NORTH?

“A longing to wander tears my heart when I hear trees rustling in the wind at evening. If one listens to them silently for a long time, this longing reveals its kernel, its meaning. It is not so much a matter of escaping from one’s suffering, though it may seem to be so. It is a longing for home, for a memory of the mother, for new metaphors for life. It leads home. Every path leads homeward, every step is birth, every step is death, every grave is mother.”

‘Trees are sanctuaries’ Herman Hesse 

This work, which began after I had my son eight years ago, explores the loss of self which I experienced after childbirth and attempts to make sense of my new identity. The series uses my mother and wider family to explore the complexity of motherhood and changing family relationships, belonging, and the inevitability of loss. 

Published by The Photo Collective: https://photocollective.com.au/the-collective/aletheia-casey/which-way-is-north/