Leaving Home
Mark Power photographs his family as his daughter leaves home for university
Magnum Home is a project that saw a large cross section of Magnum photographers, based all over the world, present a portrait of what the concept of ‘Home’ means to them. As the group exhibition opens in London, we present British Magnum photographer Mark Power’s work, a portrait of a changing family dynamic as his daughter Chilli leaves her home in Brighton to begin university in London.
“In September, our daughter Chilli left home for Goldsmiths University in London to study for a degree in Fine Art. And so began a new chapter in her life, and ours. Any parent who has been through this traumatic event will surely recognise how confused emotions become, and how deep they run. After all, Chilli had lived with us for 19 precious years.
Her departure would have an impact on us all, and not least on her younger brother Milligan. To be honest, it was the last subject I wanted to tackle, but the fact that the deadline for this work coincided exactly with the very day she was to leave suggested I had no alternative. But if I was going to do it, we all agreed, then it was essential we were open, honest and would proceed without embarrassment.
As a postscript, life here in Brighton has since returned to relative normality and Chilli is flourishing at university. She is already calling London home”
Magnum Home, powered by Fujifilm, opens at The Vinyl Factory, Soho, in London on May 18. More info here.
