When Youth and I Lived Together

Joanna Penney

Belfast, Northern Ireland

As we get older, it is easy to forget that our loved ones are also aging alongside us. 

It isn’t until something significant happens that jolts us into a state of reality,

that we realize that they too are growing older, and with that, we experience life-changing milestones.

I am looking at the natural aging process of those around me,

paying close attention to my father, who was forced into early retirement due to health reasons. 

To document this change, I capture the evidence of changes within the household
and the gaps that aging presents to my entire family.

These gaps come in the form of the negative financial impact of the loss of income 

as well as the emotional effects of losing the ability to work.

I am also looking at the domestic space 

which is now filled with someone who was absent while working most of his life.

This added figure, who is now constant within the domestic setting, changes the balance significantly.

While this is an autobiographical story about my family, aging and the feeling of being
isolated when becoming retired is a universal reality that touches everyone. 

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Young photographer, Joanna Penney, uses the medium of photography to speak about issues that
do not only affect her and her local community, but are also translated into the wider world.
Born in Belfast in 1998, this young photographer works mainly within the documentary
field of photography, using her everyday environment as the main subject of her work.