Valery Poshtarov’s work will fool you with its simplicity. The compositions feature only two figures. The subjects’ positions are similar throughout. The title is just three short words, Father and Son. And yet a whole lifetime of complexity is contained in these portraits; the emotions below the surface are anything but simple.
Poshtarov, a Bulgarian artist, began the series after making a portrait of his father and grandfather. From his own personal sphere, he branched outwards to explore the complex spectrum of meaning that is held within this act in other men’s relationships.
Asking his subjects a straightforward request—to hold hands—he captures what happens when two adult men return to a gesture so elemental to our image of parent-child relationships. “The journey of a man often involves different phases—from denial and rebellion against the world to realization and acceptance,” Poshtarov notes. “Sometimes decades pass between the moment we let go of our father’s hand and the moment we have the courage to hold it again.”
Each photograph features a father and his adult son holding hands, an act that can be natural for some and for others, deeply alien. From a young age, boys in many societies are taught, implicitly or explicitly, to bottle up their emotions, close themselves off, and treat displays of affection with skepticism or suspicion. Modern concepts of masculinity create a narrow path that veers away from vulnerability, and these ideas around toughness and self-reliance can distort relationships. Generational, cultural, and experiential differences can add even more distance. In Father and Son, the act of holding hands feels incredibly intimate; a gesture of closeness that for some feels off-limits.
Poshtarov’s subjects hold hands along the side of the road, in doorways, and in garages. They wear oil-stained coveralls, t-shirts, religious robes, and the uniforms of civil servants. They look surprised, joyful, and uncomfortable.
He comes across these pairs through a mix of chance encounters and social media. The different approaches allow for a vast array of responses. “In the first method, I catch my subjects off-guard and ask them to hold hands, placing them in a spontaneous but sometimes vulnerable position. It brings forth raw emotions and provokes controversial responses,” he reflects. “Conversely, the second method allows participants to reflect on their relationship and go beyond the mere act of being photographed.”
The images provide hints about the men’s lives, small details that enrich the moments Poshtarov captures. Did this son follow in his father’s footsteps? Was this father confused when his son didn’t? The images are poignant, drawing us in to bear witness to the closeness or distance between the two men in each image.
Poshtarov creates a space where his subjects can be themselves and can navigate this moment on their own terms. He believes that they are the true authors of the portraits. “The people in front of my camera do not pose but are engaged in a full-fledged act. I would say that this process gives them an important role, and they step onto the stage of their own lives,” he says. “For some, this role is completely natural and is a symbol of their closeness. For others, it is a great challenge. Some fathers have never expressed emotional or physical closeness to their children. By holding hands, sometimes for the first time in their lives, they go beyond their comfort zone and embody the complex dynamics of their relationships in their entirety.”
In Father and Son, Poshtarov captures a world of words that may rarely, if ever, be spoken aloud, but that exists within the intimacy of a pair of hands holding each other.