Let's Explore Perseverance with Lilly Schwarz
Chasing memories
What a stupid way to die, I thought as I was sitting on the floor, desperately trying to breathe. I had started laughing when I was eating a spoonful of honey and somehow it ended up in my airways. The seconds seemed to stretch into minutes, hours as I sat there with tears in my eyes, wheezing. Then I started to think about how ironic it would be to die on the very last trip into my past; a past from which I had barely escaped with my life more than 15 years earlier.
Of course, I didn‘t die, or I wouldn‘t be writing these lines. It was a close call this time, but I managed to snatch my life back from that hideous creature one last time. You see, it wasn‘t the first time this had happened, although it had never been quite such a physical experience before. My enemy of the past had been my own depression and suicidal tendencies. I had always felt that pressure on my lungs as if some ancient mythical creature was trying to suck out my soul.
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Biography
Lilly Schwartz is a documentary and street photographer based in Europe, with a broad interdisciplinary background in Cultural Studies, Philosophy and Robotics. Her long-term documentary projects often hinge on a personal connection, where her own experiences expand into themes of more generalised interest. She is a founding member and editor of the publication She Shoots Film, which provides a platform for women photographers who use traditional photographic processes.
