In 2001, when I was twenty, my half-brother Jonathan was born. For the first time in my life, I was no longer an only child; from then on, I would share my father, Julian, with another human being. Soon after my half-brother’s arrival, I started to photograph him. I have since photographed Julian and Jonathan for a period of over twenty years. The first picture was taken when Jonathan was just a few months old. The most recent image, found towards the end of this book, was captured in 2024. My project charts the many shifts and transitions in Jonathan’s journey towards adulthood against the relative steadiness of Julian’s story, which seems to tick by on a different timeline. It also reflects my own trajectory—as an artist, a daughter, and a half-sister. Naturally, it is my most personal, intimate and extensive body of work. Amongst the images of Jonathan and Julian, shot together or apart, the prologue introduces our grandmother, depicted at the very end of her life. Beyond traces of me, she is the only female figure that features, representing another generation in this family history. Elsewhere, images from two family trips to South Africa in 2005 and 2013—my father’s birth country—form their own distinct chapters. Above all, I am immensely grateful to Julian and Jonathan for their trust and patience over the years. For allowing me to capture them at their best, as well as in some of their most difficult times. For being my father and my half-brother, for being my family, and for the countless moments along the way when we were silently together.
