ENTRY DESCRIPTION
After experiencing an event that divided my life into 'before' and 'after', I'm thinking about the phenomenon of grief.

Feelings, emotions and experiences are important in shaping a person. The experience of grief is equally important. We define our identity through the meanings of life that are important to us.
If we care about something, it means that this is what our meanings are. Each person has different ones, and for each person their grief is the hardest to bear.

When faced with loss, I ask myself many questions about the meaning of life, my place in the world and what the future holds.
The answers come, and each answer is a step in the process, a chapter in itself.

For a person experiencing a traumatic experience, it is important to have witnesses to his grief, to share it with someone. I share my grief with my camera. Through photography I capture it, make it visible and thus live through it. The camera becomes a silent witness to my grief, helping me to come out from the darkness and to look into the space of the future.

AUTHOR
Maija Bondar (b. 1981) was born in Ukraine. At the age of seven, she moved to Russia with her family. Currently, she lives and works in Finland. In her creative practice, Maija utilizes photography.

In 2023, she received her initial education as a photographer, and she is currently studying at the Art Academy of the Turku University of Applied Sciences. Maija’s work has been recognized by CPOY, College Photographers of the Year, Helsinki Foto Festival, Budapest International Foto Awards, and others.

In her projects, Maija addresses themes related to identity, dehumanization, and the traumas inflicted on people by war.

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