Fathers and sons are holding hands in the emotive and provocative portraits of Bulgarian photographer Valery Poshtarov. We see them standing together, sometimes with awkward expressions but often looking into the lens with a heartwarming feeling of trust and love. Even though he is the photographer of the Father and Son project, Poshtarov doesn’t regard himself as the author of the pictures. “My role is to facilitate. I emphasisethe participatory aspect of my project. Those who hold hands are examples of connection. We are together in this dream of interconnected happiness.” Valery Poshtarov won the 1^st prize in the Portraiture category at the Sony WorldPhotography Awards 2024.

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Published in issue #2 2024, Human Narratives

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The idea for the Father and Son series came naturally. When Valery Poshtarov was about to take his two sons to school, he still held their hands while walking. He realised they wouldn't need to hold hands with their father one day. This realisation led him to take a picture of his father holding hands with his grandfather. Valery kept this photo in the archive until he got a special request from a couple whose son had died. “They had one son who passed away a few months earlier. The father asked me to make a portrait of him with the photo of his deceased son.” This request was a sign of destiny to do a project about fathers and sons. It formed the beginning of his project. “I started taking pictures of other fathers holding the hands oftheir sons. And I quickly realised that it became something bigger than just a family story.”

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Our roots

Beneath the family story about the relationship between father and son, Poshtarov discovered a bigger story about our shared heritage. “This story is about how we develop our identities, which depend on our family history and country. My project is a story about our humanity. I often ask myself the question of the value of our heritage and our roots.”  

In some photos, we see a father and his son with the same occupation or, at least, similarly dressed. They are farmers, doctors, lawyers, drivers, or constructors. However, there is no particularfocus on their profession. “My series also shows the differences between father and son. I ask how we can inherit family values and preserve our identity. It is not only about family ties but also about our community. In this fast-paced world, we can see huge gaps between generations.”

We have seen cultural, political and societal disruptions in recent generations. But there has always been an invisible tiebetween fathers and their rebellious sons. “We have the choice to see what we want to preserve from our ancestors and what we want to change. In many countries, the young generation is abandoning their entire culture of origin.”

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This story is about how we develop our identities, which depend on our family history and country.

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Photograph as an act

There is a magical aspect of the double portraits of Father and Son because they show ritual performances. Fathers and sons were asked to hold each other hands for the picture, something thatthey, on some occasions, haven’t done for years. “Sometimes, the portrait Itake of them is when they reconnect after an estrangement. This moment is something truly special to them. Men are not accustomed to expressing their emotions openly. This act of holding hands is beyond words. The process of taking the picture facilitates the process of bringing them together. Sometimes, holding hands creates the first-ever opportunity for them to express their emotions. My request somehow builds a new expectation of tenderness for them. Weare following societal expectations strictly in this case. When I ask them to hold hands, I'm recreating a new social expectation.”

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There are moments of reconnection that are truly heartbreaking or heartwarming.

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Significant moment

In some photos, we see a firm bond between a father and son; in others, we detect an awkwardness between them. Valery Poshtarov found every portrait a unique situation. “Every time, I was unable to guess what their reaction would be. Sometimes, holding hands was natural for them. But on other occasions, it was a challenge. Some of them completely refused, which was difficult to cope with. Your father or son denying you can be emotionally challenging.”

There were poignant moments when a father brought his hand to his son's shoulder and slowly moved his hand towards his son's hand. “This moment of a few seconds was perhaps the most significant event in his life. At this moment, he could finally connect with his son, while in his entire life, he hadn’t been able to do so. There are moments of reconnection that are truly heartbreaking or heartwarming.”

Location and background

The location and background of the portraits add value to the story of the fathers and sons. Together with the subjects, Valery Poshtarov searched for the most appropriate location. “The portraits represent the personal and family identity of the subjects. But in these double portraits, I want to show other symbols of identity. The background and the location give contextual information about their identity. The different backgrounds reflect the variety of stories and prevent the series from becoming repetitive.”

Unchangeable values

The connection between fathers and sons is notas strong as it used to be. But for Poshtarov, this forms part of a broader theme of our alienation from the world. He chose not to name the people he photographed because of this broader theme; they tell a universal story. The double portraits are a mirror for many other families. “The connection between father and son symbolises our role in society. We can recognise our personal human story in theirs. The lack of connection is a sign that our society is broken. We must question ourselves about which unchangeable values we should give our children.”

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Invitation to connect

The fathers and sons in the portraits can serve as a mirror reflecting our own situation. Poshtarov’s aim is for the viewers tostart to think of their own connection. But even though he talks about general alienation, he rejects a political stance or a critical view of our modern society. For him, shaking hands invites us to connect with the world. “It's not specifically a political or social story, neither is it a family aspect only, but it is a global theme: the human story. Holding hands is about us as human beings. We have many stories about important topics like climate change and wars. But we forget the most basic thing—the family connection.”
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Identity

In modern times, we have changed our identities as human beings into singular and separate identities. We tend to forget that every individual lives within family structures and gains identity through familial ties and heritage. Moreover, our identity expands to our shared humanity, including ancient roots. “There is something bigger than us and even bigger than our families. The idea of sharing values and building foundations for growth is a human desire to validate oneself and to be connected. My wish would be that we think more deeply about where we are in society and how we would contribute to society. We may ask ourselves what values to preserve because we are guests here.”

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My wish would be that we think more deeply about where we are in society.

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Valery Poshtarov was born in Bulgaria in 1986, growing up in a home where art and poetry were the very essence of life. He studied at the National High School of Arts in Varna and Plastic Arts at the Sorbonne, Paris. His work started to gain traction early on, with a nomination for the Cartier-Bresson Award by the Bulgarian Cultural Institute in Paris. In 2011, he launched Eastern Europe’s first online art gallery, which provided the financial independence needed to pursue his personal projects. This led to the creation of the PhotoAnthology Foundation in 2021, a non-profit dedicated to socially impactful documentary projects.

A significant work is "The Last Man Standing In The Rhodope Mountains," a photobook published in 2022. This journey, filled with nights spent in tents and encounters with the wild, resulted in a deeply personal and cultural narrative. The book is now part of prestigious collections, including MoMA in New York, MEP Paris, and the Museum of Photography in Berlin. His latest project, "Father and Son," is aninternational exploration of the emotional bonds between fathers and sons, aiming to highlight the intimate and often unspoken connection between generations, set against the backdrop of their cultural heritage.

The project has received international acclaim, winning the Sony World Photography Professional Awards, the LensCulture Portrait Awards, and the Cortona On The Move Award, among others. Through his diverse projects, he seeks to capture the essence of our shared experiences and foster a deeper understanding of the human condition.

www.poshtarov.net

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