Origin-Encore

by Fábio Miguel Roque

I found a box in 2015 of which nobody knew very well the whereabouts. Thrilled immediately by this discovery of photographs and negatives that not appeared in the family albums I started flipping through them. A lost and forgotten part of my family history was found.

My personal photography so far had been focused on issues about myself as an individual in relation towards the society. But the photographic interaction related to my own family was something new for me. I decided to take this opportunity to discover my origins. After some time I found my viewpoint on these images and started to make scans in an effort put some order in them. The first result was an album that I could hold in my hands. And then immediately it started to give me answers and new questions.

I went through a journey of my past, familiar faces, names, incidents, many things stayed unexplained to me, but other things allowed me to perceive history and situations better. Seeing the simplicity of my origins gave me a feeling of deep sympathy and tenderness towards them. They had faced many difficulties of the regime, wars, hunger, and their efforts for a better life outside the country.

I made a prototype book out of the album and started to show this to my family, close and overseas. This resulted in conversations, revelations and renewed relationships.