With the intention of discovering a yet unknown subject emerging through the exploration of her hometown, Passetto de Souza documents the house she grew up in and the town where she was born in the series presented here. Actively searching for a theme to reveal itself, she soon found death and grief manifesting as undeniable core subjects.
The sound of a car driving through the city, announcing the latest obituary notices and funeral times over a loudspeaker, is a familiar one. The community’s relationship with death is embedded in many of the photographs—images of places and objects imbued with a deep sense of loss. The family album covers permeate the series, serving as an archive of faded memories. With this, Passetto de Souza is drawn closer to a process she had postponed for two decades: grieving her father's death.
This is how the series We Were What You Are was born.
The act of photographing, along with the shelter provided by the lens, has finally allowed the artist to begin a process long repressed—one she had been unable to confront due to the complexity of these emotions. Approaching these feelings through photography has reconnected her with the act of seeking refuge in art—a practice that was integral to her childhood and one of the few memories that remain.
Facing people, stories, and memories that have always been present yet kept at a distance has now become a central methodology in the artist’s photographic practice.
