Time to Be Me. A Self-Portrait

This photo project is a visual diary reflecting my transition into a new stage of life.

A middle-aged woman often finds herself trapped in endless routines—caring for children, parents, a husband, a job, and a home. Added to this is the constant pressure of societal standards, which glorify youth and success. In such an environment, there’s little room left for one’s inner life. Women seem forbidden from aging, gaining weight, or feeling tired. But what happens when the body begins to change? When the first wrinkles appear, when extra weight sets in, and when a new, seemingly unfamiliar, yet still deeply personal reflection looks back from the mirror?

Through self-portraits, I explore my own experience of confronting these changes and inner conflicts. My photographs capture moments of acceptance and turmoil, pain and strength, as I navigate these new realities. The project portrays how the body, though increasingly reminding me of its presence with aches and stiffness, also becomes a source of wisdom and transformation.

These self-portraits are an attempt to answer profound questions: How do you hold on to yourself during times of change? How do you allow yourself to gray, to gain weight, to age, to lose lightness, to slow down from the endless hamster wheel of life? How do you learn to embrace your fading youth, let go of the chase for perpetual success, yet continue to love and respect yourself—remaining interesting to yourself above all?

This project is not just a personal diary but a visual manifesto of acceptance. It invites the viewer to see maturity as a new strength, and the natural changes in the body as a stage of growth and transformation rather than decline. It is a journey toward harmony and liberation from external standards, captured through my own reflection.