A collage displaying the arrival document of 9-year-old Ana Maria Jeremias in Portugal in 1975, 2024
Ana Maria Jeremias' domestic worker uniform. Lisbon, Portugal, 2024
The urban, and at times rural, landscape of Ana Maria Jeremias' neighbourhood, Rio de Mouro, on the Lisbon outskirts. Lisbon, Portugal, 2024
Ana Maria Jeremias commuting to work at dawn by train from the outskirts of Lisbon to the city center, where the early morning crowd consists mostly of women. Lisbon, Portugal, 2024
A collage featuring an old portrait of Belita Guilherme, Ana Maria Jeremias' mother, set against a background depicting women working in Angolan fields - an image taken from an Angolan banknote, a kwanza - that Ana Maria has kept since her first trip back to her homeland, when she reunited with her family after 30 years. Lisbon, Portugal, 2024
At dawn, Ana Maria Jeremias washes laundry for one of the families she works for in the Lapa neighborhood, the most expensive area of the city. Lisbon, Portugal, 2024
A pile of washed dishes from one of the families Ana Maria Jeremias works for, who have small children, in the Estrela neighborhood. Lisbon, Portugal, 2024
One of the kitchens where Ana Maria Jeremias works, belonging to an elderly woman she has worked for over several years, who owns a very ferocious cat and a little parakeet in a cage. Lisbon, Portugal, 2024
A collage displaying the document that granted custody of 9-year-old Ana Maria Jeremias to a Portuguese man in 1965. The document was later discovered to have been forged shortly after Angolan independence, allowing the Portuguese family to take the child away from her country, her family, and her friends. She would not see or hear from them for the next 30 years. Translation: Declaration - I, Carlos Geremias, declare that I authorize my minor daughter ANA MARIA GEREMIAS, nine years old, to travel to Portugal accompanied by Mr------------------ * and to stay in that country while the aforementioned Mr. is there.
CONDA (VILA NOVA DO SELES), June 19, 1975. Signature: Carlos Jeremias., 2024
*At the request of Ana Maria Jeremias, the name of the person responsible, now deceased, has been withheld.
A view from Ana Maria Jeremias' window in her neighborhood in Rio de Mouro. Lisbon, Portugal, 2024
A detail of an antiques collection on the way to one of the homes she works for, featuring an Afro-descendant doll with the world on her back - it seemed to me like a metaphor for Ana Maria Jeremias' life. Lisbon, Portugal, 2024
A view of the street in the Lapa neighborhood, the most expensive area of the city, at dawn. Lisbon, Portugal, 2024
A collage featuring two old portraits of Ana Maria Jeremias and her son, Luis, taken during their time living in an slum on the outskirts of Lisbon, called Pedreira dos Hungaros. Lisbon, Portugal, 2024
Ana Maria Jeremias's granddaughter, Leonor, unbraiding her grandmother's hair at her home in Rio de Mouro. Lisbon, Portugal, 2024
Photographs hanging on the walls of Ana Maria Jeremias' house in Rio de Mouro, showing her son, Luis, and her granddaughters, Beatriz and Leonor. Lisbon, Portugal, 2024
Ana Maria Jeremias opening the window in the home of an elderly lady she cares for in the Estrela neighborhood. Lisbon, Portugal, 2024
A detail of the home of one of the elderly couples Ana Maria Jeremias takes care of and works for in Rato neighborhood. Lisbon, Portugal, 2024
Ana Maria Jeremias, exhausted, sitting on her employer's couch after lifting the elderly woman up when she fell to the floor in the Estrela neighborhood. Lisbon, Portugal, 2024
A collage displaying photos from Ana Maria Jeremias' first trip back to Angola with her son, Luis, to reunite with her family, set against the background of an old postcard she kept featuring a Welwitschia mirabilis - a mythical plant native to Angola, believed to be carnivorous, 2024
Detail of the roots of a tree in the current Tropical Botanical Garden, ormerly known as the Colonial Section, and the sculptural reproductions of the heads of Indigenous people from the Portuguese Colonial Empire exhibition held during the Portuguese dictatorship, still scattered throughout the garden. Lisbon, Portugal, 2024
Ana Maria Jeremias on the weekend, traveling 755 km to visit her granddaughters, Leonor and Beatriz, who live with her mother far from Lisbon. In the photo, they are waiting for the rain to stop after mass, at the entrance of Igreja Nova de Sao Jose. Fafe, Portugal, 2024
The folded pajamas of Mr. Orlando, one of Ana Maria Jeremias's employers, who had recently lost his wife. Lisbon, Portugal, 2024
A detail of the urban landscape of Rio de Mouro, where Ana Maria Jeremias lives and commutes daily to the city center for work. Lisbon, Portugal, 2024
Ana Maria Jeremias at a friend's hairdressing salon, waiting to have her hair braided. Lisbon, Portugal, 2024
The entrance hall of a church with a portrait of the Virgin Mary, where Ana Maria Jeremias prays on Wednesdays before going to work. Lisbon, Portugal, 2024
A collage of an handwritten portuguese text by Ana Maria Jeremias recounting her story. Translation: "For many years I didn't had a spot at the table. Ate in the kitchen. Had my plate, my forks, my cup, and my mug. Always ate apart from them. Only after lots of years Father Inacio came and called my godmother's attention because they were having lunch and I wasn't having lunch and told me to sit at the table and then I started sitting at the table but I never felt very good. Because it was years and years and years... I was black, right? I was the help.", 2024
The bedroom of the elderly lady cared for by Ana Maria Jeremias. Lisbon, Portugal, 2024
Ana Maria Jeremias cleaning and caring for the elderly lady she works for, after helping her up from a fall. Lisbon, Portugal, 2024
The clothes of the elderly lady cared for by Ana Maria Jeremias. Lisbon, Portugal, 2024
A postcard Ana Maria Jeremias kept from an Angolan mountain landscape, where the phrase 'Angola: The Reality of a Dream' can be read, 2024
At dawn, Ana Maria Jeremias waits for the second bus in Campolide on her way to work, from the outskirts of Lisbon to the city center. She first has to catch a train, followed by two buses to reach her destination. Lisbon, Portugal, 2024
A detail of the kitchen of one of the elderly women for whom Ana Maria Jeremias works, showing a fruit basket with a pomegranate. Often considered a symbol of femininity, the pomegranate has long been associated with fertility, beauty, and the strength of women in various cultures, embodying the nurturing and life-giving qualities that are often linked to the feminine. Lisbon, Portugal, 2024
A collage of an handwritten portuguese text by Ana Maria Jeremias recounting her story. Translation: ""My mom said my dad sold me, but my dad never did. I'm sure. Because I remember when I left my dad's farm to go live with a Portuguese family in Luanda, my dad said "she's going, but to study," but I never studied. After thirty years without knowing my family, I met Dr. Medina who helped me find my family in Angola and found out that my dad's signature wasn't on the paper. It was fake.", 2024
Ana Maria Jeremias at home, falling asleep as soon as she arrives, sleeping only about 4 hours per day. Lisbon, Portugal, 2024
A detail of Ana Maria Jeremias' bedroom, showing St. Anthony, the patron saint of Lisbon. Revered for his role in the Catholic faith, St. Anthony is also deeply linked to Portuguese colonialism, particularly in Brazil, where he became a symbol of both religious devotion and colonial authority. As a popular figure among Portuguese settlers, his image was often venerated in Brazil, where his association with the colonizing mission reinforced the ties between the metropolis and its colonies, shaping both cultural and religious practices in the region. Lisbon, Portugal, 2024
A collage showing a photograph and a card from Ana Maria Jeremias' First Communion, a few years after she arrived in Coimbra, where the Portuguese family that brought her lived, 2024
Ana Maria Jeremias praying at Igreja Nova de Sao Jose,just before going to meet her granddaughters after school. Fafe, Portugal, 2024
Leonor, one of the children Ana Maria Jeremias takes care of, holding her hand on a day she was home for the Christmas holidays. She is the youngest of three children in the family, who also have a rescued dog named Mel. Lisbon, Portugal, 2024
A collage showing two old photographs of Ana Maria Jeremias during her leisure time, which happens less and less, and is something she only finds time to enjoy during the holidays, 2024
A hiding peacock in the Tropical Botanical Garden, formerly known as the Colonial Section, where sculptural reproductions of the heads of Indigenous people from the Portuguese Colonial Empire exhibition - held during the Portuguese dictatorship - are still scattered throughout the garden. Lisbon, Portugal, 2024
Ana Maria Jeremias disappearing into the smoke of a fire on the morning she arrived in Fafe, just before going to meet her granddaughters after school. Fafe, Portugal, 2024
Detail of the scar of a tropical tree in the current Tropical Botanical Garden, ormerly known as the Colonial Section, and the sculptural reproductions of the heads of Indigenous people from the Portuguese Colonial Empire exhibition held during the Portuguese dictatorship, still scattered throughout the garden. Lisbon, Portugal, 2024
Portraits of Ana Maria Jeremias taken throughout the duration of this project-over four months - inspired by her portrait at age nine on the document from her arrival in Portugal. Lisbon, Portugal, 2024
Portraits of Ana Maria Jeremias taken throughout the duration of this project-over four months - inspired by her portrait at age nine on the document from her arrival in Portugal. Lisbon, Portugal, 2024
Portraits of Ana Maria Jeremias taken throughout the duration of this project-over four months - inspired by her portrait at age nine on the document from her arrival in Portugal. Lisbon, Portugal, 2024
Portraits of Ana Maria Jeremias taken throughout the duration of this project-over four months - inspired by her portrait at age nine on the document from her arrival in Portugal. Lisbon, Portugal, 2024
Portraits of Ana Maria Jeremias taken throughout the duration of this project-over four months - inspired by her portrait at age nine on the document from her arrival in Portugal. Lisbon, Portugal, 2024
Portraits of Ana Maria Jeremias taken throughout the duration of this project-over four months - inspired by her portrait at age nine on the document from her arrival in Portugal. Lisbon, Portugal, 2024
Portraits of Ana Maria Jeremias taken throughout the duration of this project-over four months - inspired by her portrait at age nine on the document from her arrival in Portugal. Lisbon, Portugal, 2024
Portraits of Ana Maria Jeremias taken throughout the duration of this project-over four months - inspired by her portrait at age nine on the document from her arrival in Portugal. Lisbon, Portugal, 2024
Portraits of Ana Maria Jeremias taken throughout the duration of this project-over four months - inspired by her portrait at age nine on the document from her arrival in Portugal. Lisbon, Portugal, 2024
