In 2012, I traveled across the North Coast route in Java to sign a letter relinquishing my mother's hospital care due to financial constraints. Our family lacked funds for her prolonged 6-month hospitalization, without any insurance coverage.
After signing, my mother was transported home to Pati, Central Java, without life support, only relying on oxygen. Once back, the oxygen was removed, and within 5 minutes, she passed away.
Our strained relationship, marked by childhood abuse, created deep trauma. Following her death, I rarely visited home, except for urgent matters. Despite the abuse, my complex emotions led to both hatred and love for my mother.
This photo project serves as a therapeutic outlet, aiding in the healing of my enduring trauma from an abusive relationship with my late mother.
Arief Priyono, an Indonesian documentary photographer, studied photography at the Antara School of Journalism and worked at ANTARA from 2007 to 2012. He later became a freelance photojournalist.
His project about Japanese internment camps in Indonesia received an Honorable Mention in the Innovate Artist Grants for Spring 2023.
Recently, he received a grant from Internews' Earth Journalism Network for covering the jellyfish population explosion in the Madura Strait, Probolinggo.