Grandma's Home / Bakin dom
Photographing a grandmother is not just about documenting one person, but capturing the essence of everything she represents. The project "Grandmotherhood" is a story about the feelings that come from her presence – warmth, security, immense gratitude, and the only place where one can feel truly taken care of.
Through scents that evoke memories, such as violets in her garden, cooking that fills the house, the smell of onions, jasmine from her yard, her clothes, and the perfume that is too strong but important to me, this atmosphere is something that everyone who has been fortunate enough to have a grandma can relate to.
Each photograph carries a piece of her world – objects she keeps as mementos from loved ones, little things that tell stories of times past, and photos of her house and space that have the unique feel of safety and warmth.
This project is not just about one grandmother, but about all grandmothers through the presence of my own.
My grandmother grew up in Yugoslavia, with a very strict but fair father who was a military officer, and a mother who constantly moved with her other husband. She found a sense of security mostly with her aunt on the Adriatic coast in Betina, Croatia.
This rigid upbringing left a mark on her, yet she finished all her schooling and graduated from university, becoming a Serbian language teacher. As a teacher, she was strict, but her students later thanked her. As a mother, she was firm, yet represented strength. As a grandmother, she has embraced her softer side and the tenderness she might have once suppressed.
I am most inspired by her advice on friendship, how it is nurtured with continuity, attention, love, and never forgetting.
Every day, she takes time to call her friends, even though they are separated by hundreds of kilometers, in different countries like Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, etc. Nothing has ever separated them because they hold on to each other, even if only by phone. She and we are always welcome at their homes, just as they are at ours.
I admire this as someone who is a bit more spoiled when it comes to maintaining contact. For her, it is a rule, and that's that.
Many of the objects she keeps as mementos from loved ones are intertwined with the stories of her friendships, each item a testament to a bond that has stood the test of time and distance.
A photograph on the wall and her collection of coffee cups are symbols of her loyalty to all her dear ones, wherever they may be.
Each gift from them is carefully treasured in her home, and perhaps this is the greatest symbol of my grandmother: loyalty, remembrance, preservation.
The sense of security when you are with her, the warmth of her embrace, and the peace her voice brings – it is the feeling of home, a place where you are always welcome, a place that smells of memories.
The aim is to inspire everyone to remember their own grandmothers, through scents and objects, through these spaces and her presence in all of them. This is a heartfelt tribute to the immense gratitude we feel for all they have given us, and a powerful reminder to cherish those precious moments while they last.
Through these photos, I am sharing the atmosphere and the spirit of grandmotherhood, but each one has a personal story for me. I will share with you some pieces of my life with my grandma and my connection to her and her home.
Should I start with violets?
From my earliest childhood, my memories are filled with violets. I didn’t know what month, season, or reason brought them; I just recognized the smell of grandma and grandpa's backyard, and the fairytales would begin.
I was a princess in my violet world, making everyone happy by bringing them bouquets of violets – my mother, my grandmother, my aunt, my neighbor.
As the first grandchild, I was grandpa's favorite, and he planted violets all over the yard, leaving a part of himself in them.
Seven years after he passed away, I still haven’t published or printed photos of him that I took over a decade since getting my first camera, but every year, we take a moment to smell the violets when they bloom. And grandma still gets her bouquet.
Perhaps violets are one of the greatest symbols and memories of this particular home, which is now grandma's home.
I remember mornings when I would wake up to the smell of freshly baked eggs or lunch, with the freshest sheets around me. My grandmother would yell, “Breakfast time!” and I would feel so blessed to have a grandma.
This place is safe; here I find comfort in difficult times and always return to life feeling healed.
One of the things I love most about spending nights at my grandma's is the freshness. I don’t know anyone else who still irons even pillowcases, but she does. One of my favorite parts is entering the garden during spring and summer and seeing the fresh laundry dancing in the wind.
Before my grandpa died, I had a conversation with him and grandma about a particular chair. It was my favorite spot since childhood.
I remember saying, like a brat, “This chair will be mine one day! Do you agree, grandpa?”
He said yes, and if anyone made a fuss about it, he would deal with them!
Grandpa is gone, but I believe our deal is still on.
This chair made this house memorable. It looks more comfortable than it is, and it looks luxurious – everything a child needs to play “kingdom” in this room.
I hope to one day have this chair in my own family home.
In capturing the essence of grandmotherhood, this project transcends mere documentation to evoke the warmth, security, and deep gratitude that grandmothers universally embody.
Through evocative scents, cherished objects, and the comforting presence of her home, each photograph tells a story of timeless love and care.
This tribute not only honors one grandmother but all grandmothers, urging us to cherish and remember the precious moments spent with them, we who had a chance for it.
It is a heartfelt reminder of the unique and irreplaceable role grandmothers play in our lives, inspiring us to hold on to these memories and the feelings of home they forever provide.
This project was developed during the Level 2 Visual Narrative Workshop at VII Academy.
Fotografisati baku ne znači samo dokumentovati jednu osobu, već uhvatiti suštinu svega što ona predstavlja. Projekat „Grandmotherhood” je priča o osećanjima koja dolaze iz njenog prisustva – toplini, sigurnosti, neizmernoj zahvalnosti i jedinom mestu na kojem čovek može da se oseti istinski zbrinuto.
Kroz mirise koji bude uspomene, kao što su ljubičice u njenoj bašti, kuvanje koje ispunjava kuću, miris crnog luka, jasmin iz njenog dvorišta, njena odeća i parfem koji je prejak, ali meni važan, ova atmosfera je nešto sa čime svako ko je imao sreću da ima baku može da se poistoveti.
Svaka fotografija nosi deo njenog sveta – predmete koje čuva kao uspomene na voljene ljude, sitnice koje pričaju priče o prošlim vremenima i fotografije njene kuće i prostora koji imaju jedinstven osećaj sigurnosti i topline.
Ovaj projekat nije samo o jednoj baki, već o svim bakama kroz prisustvo moje.
Moja baka odrasla je u Jugoslaviji, sa veoma strogim, ali pravednim ocem koji je bio vojni oficir, i majkom koja se stalno selila sa svojim drugim mužem. Osećaj sigurnosti najviše je pronalazila kod svoje tetke na jadranskoj obali, u Betini, u Hrvatskoj.
Ovakvo strogo odrastanje ostavilo je trag na njoj, ali je završila sve škole i diplomirala na fakultetu, postavši nastavnica srpskog jezika i potom učiteljica. Kao učiteljica bila je stroga, ali su joj njeni učenici kasnije zahvaljivali. Kao majka bila je čvrsta, ali je predstavljala snagu. Kao baka prihvatila je svoju nežniju stranu i nežnost koju je možda nekada potiskivala.
Najviše me inspirišu njeni saveti o prijateljstvu, o tome kako se ono neguje kontinuitetom, pažnjom, ljubavlju i time što nikada ne zaboravljamo.
Svakog dana odvaja vreme da pozove svoje prijatelje, iako ih dele stotine kilometara i nalaze se u različitim zemljama poput Hrvatske, Bosne i Hercegovine, Slovenije i drugih. Ništa ih nikada nije razdvojilo jer se drže jedni drugih, makar samo telefonom. Ona i mi smo uvek dobrodošli u njihovim domovima, baš kao što su i oni u našem.
Divim se tome kao neko ko je pomalo razmažen kada je u pitanju održavanje kontakata. Za nju je to pravilo i to je to.
Mnogi predmeti koje čuva kao uspomene na voljene ljude isprepleteni su pričama o njenim prijateljstvima, a svaki predmet svedoči o vezi koja je izdržala test vremena i udaljenosti. Fotografija na zidu i njena kolekcija šoljica za kafu simboli su njene odanosti svim dragim ljudima, gde god da se nalaze.
Svaki poklon od njih pažljivo čuva u svom domu i možda je upravo to najlepši opis moje bake: odanost, sećanje, čuvanje.
Osećaj sigurnosti kada ste sa njom, toplina njenog zagrljaja i mir koji donosi njen glas – to je osećaj doma, mesta gde ste uvek dobrodošli, mesta koje miriše na uspomene.
Cilj je da inspirišem svakoga da se seti svoje bake, kroz mirise i predmete, kroz ove prostore i njeno prisustvo u svima njima. Ovo je iskrena posveta neizmernoj zahvalnosti koju osećamo za sve što su nam pružile i snažan podsetnik da cenimo te dragocene trenutke dok traju.
Kroz ove fotografije delim atmosferu i duh bakinog sveta, ali svaka od njih za mene ima ličnu priču. Podeliću sa vama neke delove svog života sa bakom i svoju povezanost sa njom i njenim domom.
Da li da počnem od ljubičica?
Od najranijeg detinjstva moja sećanja ispunjena su ljubičicama. Nisam znala koji ih mesec, godišnje doba ili razlog donosi, samo sam prepoznavala miris bakinog i dekinog dvorišta i bajke bi počinjale.
Bila sam princeza u svom svetu ljubičica, usrećujući sve tako što sam im donosila bukete ljubičica – mami, baki, ujni, komšinici.
Kao prvo unuče bila sam dedina miljenica, a on je zasadio ljubičice po celom dvorištu, ostavljajući deo sebe u njima.
Sedam godina nakon što je preminuo, još uvek nisam izložila niti odštampala njegove fotografije koje sam snimala tokom više od jedne decenije otkako sam dobila svoj prvi fotoaparat, ali svake godine zastanemo na trenutak da pomirišemo ljubičice kada procvetaju. A baka i dalje dobija svoj buket.
Možda su ljubičice jedan od najvećih simbola i uspomena na ovaj dom, koji je sada bakin dom.
Sećam se jutara kada bih se budila uz miris sveže pečenih jaja ili ručka, sa najčistijom posteljinom oko sebe. Baka bi viknula: „Doručak!” i ja bih se osećala toliko srećnom što imam baku.
Ovo mesto je sigurno; ovde pronalazim utehu u teškim trenucima i uvek se vraćam životu osećajući se izlečeno.
Jedna od stvari koje najviše volim kada prespavam kod bake jeste svežina. Ne poznajem nikoga ko još uvek pegla čak i jastučnice, ali ona to radi. Jedna od mojih omiljenih stvari jeste da uđem u baštu tokom proleća i leta i vidim sveže opran veš kako pleše na vetru.
Pre nego što je deda umro, razgovarala sam sa njim i bakom o jednoj posebnoj fotelji. To je bilo moje omiljeno mesto još od detinjstva.
Sećam se da sam rekla, kao razmaženo derište: „Ova fotelja će jednog dana biti moja! Je l' se slažeš, deda?”
Rekao je da se slaže i da će, ako se neko bude bunio, on izaći na kraj sa njima!
Dede više nema, ali verujem da naš dogovor i dalje važi.
Ova fotelja učinila je ovu kuću nezaboravnom. Izgleda udobnije nego što jeste i izgleda luksuzno – sve što je detetu potrebno da se igra „kraljevstva” u ovoj sobi.
Nadam se da ću jednog dana imati ovu fotelju u svom porodičnom domu.
Hvatajući suštinu bakinog sveta, ovaj projekat prevazilazi puko dokumentovanje kako bi dočarao toplinu, sigurnost i duboku zahvalnost koje bake univerzalno predstavljaju.
Kroz mirise koji bude uspomene, dragocene predmete i utešno prisustvo njenog doma, svaka fotografija priča priču o bezvremenoj ljubavi i brizi.
Ova posveta ne odaje počast samo jednoj baki, već svim bakama, podstičući nas da cenimo i pamtimo dragocene trenutke provedene sa njima, mi koji smo srećni da imamo to iskustvo.
Ovo je iskren podsetnik na jedinstvenu i nezamenljivu ulogu koju bake imaju u našim životima, inspirišući nas da sačuvamo ove uspomene i osećaj doma koji nam one zauvek pružaju.
Ovaj projekat realizovan je u okviru radionice Level 2 Visual Narrative na VII Academy.
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