Ask any photographer about shooting a series and they will tell you that ideas never truly go as planned. While photographing his family life, Canadian photographer Jaret Belliveau’s mother was diagnosed with cancer, an event which sparked two personally reflective projects, a series about grief and a collaborative journey of healing and discovery.

The first series titled Familial Endurance documents the battle, and ultimate loss, of Belliveau’s mother. More from Belliveau’s statement:

This body of work began as an attempt to clarify and understand the internal workings of family. I began by photographing my family in the places in which they spend time. Ten months into this exploration, my mother was diagnosed with cancer. Familial Endurance describes the personal challenges that each family member address’s throughout this situation.

Familial Endurance takes us through the paces. We are witness to the to a disease’s sudden emergence and its ravage upon family and photographer. What appears to be a project undertaken solely for the purpose of healing quickly redirects itself into a declaration of love and acceptance. This “familial” trauma is carefully handled, resulting in photographs that are as sensitive as they are dignified.

© Jaret Belliveau

© Jaret Belliveau

© Jaret Belliveau

© Jaret Belliveau

© Jaret Belliveau

© Jaret Belliveau

After his mother’s death, Belliveau takes a cross-country trip with his younger brother and shoots the series titled Expect Delays. More info from Belliveau’s statement:

Throughout history exploration has been motivated by the possibility of growth and the unknown. After the death of our mother, my fifteen-year-old brother and I decided to travel across Canada in the hope of discovering ourselves. During the course of our two-month trip I photographed David by placing him in significant locations of Canadian history. The process of making these images draws direct reference to the vernacular photographs taken during a family vacation.

© Jaret Belliveau

© Jaret Belliveau

© Jaret Belliveau

© Jaret Belliveau

© Jaret Belliveau

© Jaret Belliveau

© Jaret Belliveau

Although Expect Delays is about the grieving process, it’s also a series where the idea of being a Canadian is measured. How do these significant places, which are so distanced in both memory and physical space, relate to ones own identity? What is it to be Canadian in a place where vast space (and the resulting travel that’s associated with living there) equals the loss (in death and in life) of one’s own habitual identity?

For more information on Belliveau’s work and the story of his journey, click here and here.

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