Maria, una historia de amor

“Maria, una historia de amor” (“Maria, a love story”) explores the unexpected bond that grew between my elderly neighbour Maria and my daughter Zélie after her birth. Maria, a 75-year-old widow, became an essential presence in our daily lives, transforming what began as a simple relationship between neighbours into a chosen family built on care, affection, and mutual support.

The project reflects on the profound transformations of the family structure in contemporary Western societies. The traditional model of a nuclear family surrounded by an extended network of relatives is increasingly giving way to new forms of kinship. Single-parent households, geographic mobility, and social isolation have made neighbours, friends, and local communities indispensable sources of emotional and practical support. As a single mother raising my daughter far from my own family, I have experienced this reality firsthand.

Through photography, I document the intimate gestures, shared routines, and quiet moments that reveal how love and care can emerge beyond blood ties. Maria became not only a witness to my daughter's childhood but also an active participant in our lives, while Zélie's presence brought renewed purpose, joy, and companionship to Maria's own.

The project also engages with the symbolic and religious resonance of Maria's name, invoking centuries of representations of motherhood, protection, sacrifice, and femininity. These references intertwine with my own questions about motherhood: its ideals, its vulnerabilities, and the often-unspoken tensions between social expectations and lived experience.

Rather than presenting family as a fixed institution, “Maria, una historia de amor” proposes a more fluid understanding of belonging, suggesting that family can also be created through proximity, generosity, and shared everyday life. This project stands as a visual reflection on intergenerational solidarity, chosen kinship, and the quiet forms of love that sustain us in an increasingly fragmented world.

Séverine Sajous was selected from among the applicants for “Sisterhood in Practice” exhibition. This Artist Feature is part of Der Greif’s initiative to bring female-identifying and non-binary voices to the forefront.