"Fish swim in my blood and hesitate between staying too near the surface and plumbing the depths, just like the vague summonses issued by memory"

"Small Memories" by José Saramago is a book which has profoundly moved me and has inspired me to try to translate the author's sensitivity through photography. The pictures illustrate delicate moments from the writer's childhood: sharing a watermelon with his cousin on the beach, holding a balloon given by his mother, and being mesmerised by a tree on the side of a moonlit night road on his way home. These were small fleeting moments which nonetheless Saramago carried throughout his life. The process of visualising Saramago's memories led me to understand the meaning of the book even more deeply. The writer’s gift is his sharing of the events which shaped him, thus the readers can carry those warm memories – the remembrance of special connections with people close to him.