John Stuart Mill, a celebrated 19th-century liberal thinker, wrote once: “Human nature is not a machine that is built according to a pattern or a model and ready to do exactly the work that is prescribed for it, but a tree that needs to grow and develop on all sides, according to the tendencies of its inner forces, which make it a living thing”.

Although my tree from my garden can never be free, as long as it remains rooted in the earth, I trust that my children, like many other children in separated families, will learn to find their inner resilience between two homes.  

I want to stay (2020-2022) collects photographs of my garden, mostly from my window, which I combine with images of my children, moments before we say goodbye.

© Susana I. Espana.