Photo Book

Online screening: Granny’s Life

All summer you have the chance to visit the outdoor, large scale exhibition Granny by the Ukrainian artist Olena Morozova on the walls of our exhibition venue Frame on Refshaleøen. The touching exhibition was part of this year’s photo festival as a part of Odesa Photo Days. It explores the relationship between the artist and her grandmother, who was once an independent feminist, but was living with dementia in the last years of her life.

As a special summer treat we can now also show Olena Morozova’s film Granny here. The film was shown in our cinema during the festival. We urge you to see Morozova’s portrait of her granny and also to support her fundraiser to get the project published – we would love to see this project as a book! 

You can pre-order the book or find more information on how to support here

Granny’s Life

“In the photos of the project Granny are my granny, me and my younger children Maria and Tymur. My granny had a very bright life, she was a really bright and interesting person with a great sense of humor. She was a doctor, a gynecologist. She started her practice in Siberia, but she dreamed of living in Kyiv and one day her dream came true. 

She was also an examplary feminist. In the Soviet days this was quite strange. All her life she did everything herself. She raised her son (my dad) by herself, she earned money, saved people's lives, helped newborns to life, she got an apartment in Kyiv herself, bought a car for her son and she never got married, but she had many lovers.

I started researching the problem of dementia when my grandmother was diagnosed with it. We talked about her illness so that she does not lose touch with reality. I also involved my children in this process, which was very helpful. 

The burden of dementia

According to the WHO, in 2017 there were more than 50 million people with dementia worldwide. 7.7 million new cases are reported yearly, each one becomes a significant burden on families and health systems. Dementia causes the brain to degenerate and it is characterized by a persistent decrease in cognitive activity with a loss of previously acquired knowledge and practical skills. From the very first manifestations to severe forms, patients require care and social support.

Glimpses of her complex and interesting character are like pearls that you acquire through the hard work of constant communication. These moments dear to our hearts, the chronicle of the struggle against "the darkness" and visions from a past life: military childhood, interesting youth, medical practice in the cruel inhuman conditions of the Russian hinterland, are the essence of the project, which has become more than a project for me. 

At a certain moment, I felt the need to photograph her in those moments when she talks about her visions. I have traced a clear relationship between memories, strong impressions and fears from my grandmother's past and painful visions in the present.

There is no happy ending in this struggle, the illness always wins, and this dread is visible. When phantasmagorias merge with reality it's always scary, and the only thing that can help is the attention of relatives and closeness.

Fundraiser to publish Granny

I think that such an interesting person and interesting life story is worth publishing in an art book. I found a book designer and publisher in Kyiv called RedZet. We did a lot of work on it already and now we have started a fundraiser to publish 300 copies of the first edition of the book «Granny».” Photographer Olena Morozova

Olena Morozova: Granny

Refshalevej 173C, Refshaleøen

24. June 2022