Half-Love

Over several years, Tamane’s Half-Love project follows the gradual evolution of her half-sister, Elina: her father’s daughter from his second marriage. The photographs were taken at their family home in Varzas, which the artist visits every summer. Here, a greenhouse becomes an improvised photo studio, where she takes a new portrait of her sister each year. Quoting Jana Kukaine’s article Seasonal Love: “The greenhouse setting invokes themes of care, nurture and warmth that resonate with horticultural principles, as well as being echoed in social theories about the possibilities of constructing, or more precisely, reconstructing society. In this framework, we can think of sisterly love as a protective environment – a microclimate in which not only people, but also certain feelings, beliefs and forms of relationships can grow and flourish.” The process of taking photographs is an opportunity for Tamane to spend time with her younger half-sister, as well as to re-enact her own childhood experiences – all against the background of a seemingly idyllic seaside village. Half-Love is both a long-term study of Elina’s life and a love letter to the relationship they share: Elina’s continued eagerness to participate in the project reflects the close bond between the two half-sisters, despite having grown up in different families.