my epic is my everyday

My epic is my everyday started as simple documentation of my life. I was and I am aware that life fluctuates, I have experienced a lot of lows throughout my life and for the first time in a long time I am experiencing a high, and I intend to hold on to it for as long as life allows me to. I understand how precious and rare this high is and I was determined to document it so that I could always look at it whenever I was feeling sad and remember that life is not always bad. I shot around 300 photos, I used an Olympus Mju ll and a Kodak disposable camera, with either Kodak gold or portra 400. I decided to use a point and shoot camera because they are extremely portable and easy to use, which allowed me to carry them everywhere and take photos inside places that usually I would not be able to. In the beginning, I mainly took photos of my friends, growing up I completely ignored my parents, I did not like their ideas and decisions, so I created my own family with my group of friends, and this project was supposed to be a way of thanking them, however, very quickly I noticed that I was no longer sixteen, I now live in London, my every day is split into two cities and divided between my friends and family. Yes, I might disagree with my parents' life decisions, but the only reason I am even able to do this project is because of my family who have supported me despite my constant disregard towards them. My mom hurt me immensely as a teenager but she is also the person that loves me the most and even though I am not physically with her, she is with me every day. This entire project was very helpful from a psychological standpoint. I create to move on with my life, however from an aesthetic standpoint I was not satisfied with just creating a series of ten to twenty photos, the project was feeling a little narcissistic to me, so I decided to choose five people who at this moment have a big impact on my life - my mother, my grandfather Kira Locke, and Ivan Pinto I wanted this project to belong to them as much as it belonged to me, so I scheduled individual meetings with all of them and showed them the photos I took, I asked which ones they preferred and then asked what the concept of epic meant to them and if they can find it in their lives. I asked them to write their thoughts on life on a piece of paper and then proceeded to create a collage of their photos with the texts they had written and I was able to connect the everyday and the epic.

Heaven is a feeling

In each of our hearts there is a kingdom. One moment you’re on top, the next alone and desperate. It seems we’re all in a wheel - going from top to bottom in life’s experiences at varying speeds until we die. In the laughter of a lover, a leap of faith, and a really good pasta the epic can be found. The contrast of fear & disappointment make them all the more sweet.

27 years Kira Locke

When I close my eyes...mission accomplished...

Licinia starts by saying how proud of her family she is. She praises her two kids, using words such as happiness, hard work and honesty. She then proceeds to say that even with the highs and lows of life she is proud of herself and that nothing is impossible.
In her last paragraph, Licinia states that positivity beats fear and that overcoming difficulties makes our existence epic.

56 years Licinia Ventura

Ivan believes that epic is when you distance yourself from the ways of society. When you refuse to be another sheep among thousands of sheep. He also believes that the concept of the epic could be found in situations that transport us beyond our everyday life.

23 years Ivan Tx

Gratitude

Alcino starts by saying that throughout his life he had a few moments that became epic in his opinion.
He recalls being called by the Portuguese army and having to go to Angola as a young man, leaving behind his family. He states that the whole experience plus the feeling of loneliness were epic.
He then proceeds to talk about some other unforgetful moments of his life such as the unexpected death of his father and daughter.
However, he concludes his text by saying that life is not that bad and recalls some good moments such as the birth of his grandchildren and that he’s very grateful for the life he lived and that he hopes he’ll be able to live more epic moments.

79 years Alcino

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