The idea for this project came up from my dad's insistence to be photographed at moments of sadness, when he was crying. These moments were results of depression, which was, sometimes, enhanced by drunkenness. My dad used to state that people only remember to register happy moments and that they always make a point of affirming, through photography, they are happy regardless it is the truth. That Self-assertion once mentioned by Sontag* (I could swear my dad has never read her books). Although almost all the moments when I took these pictures my dad wasn't sad nor crying, the process was painful for me. Many times I thought that it could be the last time I was there with him. For many years I denied my dad's alcoholism, I wouldn't talk about it and I would judge him for his choices of not taking our help nor seeking treatment.
It was only after accepting his condition, perhaps alongside my own maturity, that I could understand him and comprehend it as part of my own life. It was then, when I started talking about it and photographing him. The choice of using a film camera permitted a more natural approach and also did not interfere much on his behaviour since we couldn’t see the pictures straight away.
With that I also experienced the ethics conflict, pondering whether I was being intrusive or somehow exploitative in making public these photographs.