Scenes of absence | Yuhki Touyama | Aka Aka 2024

This book collects photographs taken by Yuhki Touyama during the period in which she cared for her grandmother in the last months of her life.

"I am filled with endless regret and questions. Although I read lots of articles and books on caregiving, in actual practice I couldn't keep up with what I learned.

What could I have done?

I am left with the photographs of the neighborhood that I took as a brief respite during the short times when I went out shopping and the photographs of the garden that I took from inside the room in the attempt to emotionally support my grandmother who, unable to go outside, sometimes hallucinated, declaring that she saw ink paintings on the wall. Outside the house, the seasons changed. My experience and my grandmother's experience were undoubtedly different.

Maybe we needed more words that could have filled up the time. Now I rely on the photographs that remain with the intention to continue the dialogue with my grandmother." - Yuhki Touyama