When Tinatin Jabanashvili began studying law in her home town of Tbilisi, Georgia, she left her passions of dancing and acting behind. Photography, she says, took their place; a way to express her feelings, and how she saw the world, without words.
Having completed her master’s, she now works in HR in the parliament of Georgia. “My work is very interesting, but very corporate. My art is what fills me with freedom.” Her biggest passion, however, arrived six months ago, in the form of a little girl called Elene. “She’s my first child, and has become my biggest and best inspiration. Before, it was people, streets, shadows and sunshine, but now I’m at home raising my child I’m grateful for every minute, for all the new things she’s doing,” she says.
This photo was taken in her flat two years ago, using her iPhone’s self-timer function; her hands, holding the roses, are just out of shot. She brightened the colour of the flowers slightly, but nothing else, she says: “I want people to see the things I show them as they are.”
While she originally conceived it as a self-portrait, she says it doesn’t reflect the person she is now. “Motherhood gives you empowerment – every day is a new opportunity to rise up. I’m not that woman any more. I am stronger.”
