Don Marino, Don Juan and Don Angelo belong to the village's law enforcement committee. It was surprising to see that not only families wanted to be photographed. "Family Matters" project was born while I was working with the families of the 43 students from a rural teachers school that disappeared last year in Iguala. While working with them, I noticed that none of them had family photos - all they had were snapshots taken on their cell phones that were lost or accidentally deleted. Nobody printed any more pictures. It struck me that these people were not just denied a future with their loved ones, but they were also denied a past - with the lost photos, the memories would also eventually vanish. And who are we, without our memories? It's a paradox, in this day and age, where the amount of images produced has never been greater, and yet, how many of them will survive? And if they don't, what will happen to our history? So I set out to make family portraits and hand out printed copies for them, on the spot. Is life only a series of physical impulses that cease to have any meaning the moment they stop? A person photographed has achieved a moment of redemption, saved from the fate of being forever forgotten. Photo © Adriana Zehbrauskas @adrianazehbrauskas #mexico #guerrero #huehuetonoc #familymatters #gettyimagesinstagramgrant #iphone #hipstamatic

Adriana Zehbrauskasさん(@adrianazehbrauskas)が投稿した写真 -

　プロジェクトにはiPhoneのカメラが使われている。彼女が持参するiPhone と接続したプリンターから即座にプリントし、被写体になってくれた人々にプリントを手渡すためだ。それはまた、携帯がプリントを少なくしているという現象に対する彼女自身の逆説的な皮肉も込められている。

　プロジェクトは白黒写真だ。プロジェクトのひとつのコンセプトは"年月の経った家族写真、すなわち古い宝物"と彼女が考えているからだ。ただし、それを最初にプリントして被写体になってくれた人々に渡した時、ひどく失望されたという。そのため、以後はカラーでも撮影し、そのプリントを彼らに渡すようしている。ちなみに、笑っているポートレイト写真はほとんどない。意図的にそうコントロールしているのでなく、被写体が自然にそうするためだ。

　多くの南米出身者たちは、無意識にしろ、その文化属性に神との関わりを意識している。アドリアーナ自身、写真そのもののスタイルはブラジルやラテンの文化に影響されたわけではないというが、作品の物語性にはその影響を認めている。今後も続けていくというFamily Matters のプロジェクト・ステイトメントの最後に、宗教色の非常に強いredemption（さまざまな苦しみ、あるいは罪からの解放、救済）という単語を使って、こう述べている。A person photographed has achieved a moment of redemption, saved from the fate of being forever forgotten――写真は永遠に忘れ去られるという運命から我々を救ってくれる。

【参考記事】ロシアの過酷な現実を生き抜いた記憶を写真に収めて

今回ご紹介したInstagramフォトグラファー：
Adriana Zehbrauskas @adrianazehbrauskas

Daila and Elsa. It is normal, when photographing children that they look at the camera and smile, like it's natural reaction to the camera pointed at them. Not them. They were serious and I did not ask them to smile. From my "Family Matters" series. This project was born while I was working with the families of the 43 students from the Ayotzinapa teachers rural school that disappeared last year in Iguala. While working with them, I noticed that none of them had family photos - all they had were snapshots taken on their cell phones that were lost or accidentally deleted. Nobody printed any more pictures. It struck me that these people were not just denied a future with their loved ones, but they were also denied a past - with the lost photos, their memories would also eventually vanish. And who are we, without our memories? It's paradox to me that in this day and age, where the amount of images produced has never been greater and yet, nobody is keeping them anymore. How many will survive? And if they don't, what will happen to our history? Is life only a series of physical impulses that cease to have any meaning the moment they stop? A person photographed has achieved a moment of redemption, saved from the fate of being forever forgotten. So I set out to make family portraits and hand out the printed copies, right there and then. This is the first trip for this project and you are my witnesses. "PHOTOGRAPHS ARE A WAY OF IMPRISONING REALITY... ONE CAN'T POSSESS REALITY, ONE CAN POSSESS IMAGES - ONE CAN'T POSSESS THE PRESENT BUT ONE CAN POSSESS THE PAST" - SUSAN SONTAG Photo © Adriana Zehbrauskas @adrianazehbrauskas #mexico #guerrero #huehuetonoc #familymatters #gettyimagesinstagramgrant #iphone

Adriana Zehbrauskasさん(@adrianazehbrauskas)が投稿した写真 -