A little life
Over a ten-year period, there were no photos taken of my brother. This absence of images was a result of his complex lifestyle.
The question arises: if there is no photographic evidence, how can we prove someone existed, and how can we know what they did during the time they were absent from being documented?
Here, I’ve used expired film to begin the telling of a story.
This time now, a tapestry of light, reveals the soul who dwelt beyond our sight.
Each word, a brushstroke; each image, a spark, to draw his life from shadows cold and stark.
As a fellow Substacker (George) said: “Memories are in our hearts and minds not in pics in our cells or elsewhere.”
Nat, I don't think this is the wrong question or that by asking it, you are *needing* documentary proof of your brother's life during those 10 years. While I agree with George that "memories are in our hearts and minds not in pics in our cells or elsewhere," I'd also argue that pics can create a connection with someone in ways that we might not otherwise have. The photos of my sisters and parents, taken before I was born, have connected me to them in ways that only memories could not ... because, of course, I have no memories of them during those times. And those photos have helped me make a stronger connection with my brother-in-law because he did know her then. It isn't that we need photographs to know someone existed. It's that our memories might fade whereas photographs do not. Indeed, some people document their lives way too much, as if they feel they don't exist unless there is a photographic record of them. For me, though, photographs are tools I use to stimulate my spotty memory. I won't forget what my sisters looked like because I have so many photos of them, and I can see how they grew from gangly girls into beautiful women. I think I can understand why you'd want some photos of your brother during those 10 years.
Perhaps those photos would make you feel better, but in my view things don’t happen because they have been photographed