Serás mis ojos by Eleonora Ronconi

I've always believed that we are three-dimensional beings, constantly living in the context of place. Everything we experience, everything we recall is intractably embedded in a specific node of time and space. In my quest to adapt to living in the United States – in a place that is not mine, I began to lose my connection to myself, my identity and my grounding.

I have lived in California since 1998, but Buenos Aires remains my home – it anchors and feeds my soul. On one of my trips there, with my camera in hand, I decided to revisit the place I knew so well and start at the beginning. I photographed things that have been a very important part of my life – family photographs, my first communion dress, my aunt's house, places I'd visited with my father who passed away when I was a teenager. Like a jigsaw puzzle, the pieces started coming together, re-creating my history and journey, reconstructing a life that had begun to feel no longer in sharp focus.

Just as I started this reconstruction of time and place, my aunt was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. When I told her about my project, she told me how much she enjoyed photography when she was young and with tears in her eyes, she said "I am so happy you decided to photograph your home and collect your memories, because I am losing mine... so go out there, see for me, remember for me, you shall be my eyes".

I was her eyes, but also mine. As she slowly forgot who she was, I remembered who I am. This journey allowed me to rediscover the universal quest of self, collecting the pieces that had been left behind and occupying the spaces that had been left vacant.

Eleonora Ronconi (she/her/hers) is an artist living in Santa Clara, California.
www.eleonoraronconi.com | @eleoronconi