A few days after her birth, she exhibited uncommon symptoms: she clenched her fists, bowed her head, and then her body lost stiffness. These symptoms repeated several times a day, so we took her to a doctor. A general physician then sent us to a neurologist, and, from there, we overtook a long journey, where professionals from different cities diagnosed her illness as epileptic seizure spasms. As parents, we lived these days in a state of shock, unable to digest a reality that we did not understand and that overwhelmed us.
Etiology is unimportant now. Electroencephalograms and multiple tests concluded that Tita suffered from the West syndrome, a serious and rare brain disorder that generates short, axial muscle contractions; these produce psychomotor retardation with pervasive development disorder. Several neurologists agreed this condition later degenerated into the so-called Lennox Gastout syndrome; it meant childhood epileptic encephalopathy with mental damage and severe therapeutic resistance. Tita would need rigorous full time attention and much medication for the rest of her life.
Tita’s condition made us abandon many of our life projects. However, two years later we decided to have Fabiola. By the time she had turned five, she had already become the older sister. Mentally Tita has stayed at the same age; she will always be a child. Since then, our communication is based on hugs and deep gazes. Her fragility and hyperactivity drive us forward into taking care of her without rest.”
About the Artist
Fabiola Cedillo does durational work, she is interested in photographing everyday life and finding new ways of communicating through images. She plays with her most immediate environment and the subjects she photographs, without any limits. What she photographs is close and emotional.
She is Nominated to Joop Swart Masterclass 2018 by World Press Photo. She was awarded the “New Generation Prize” of PHM Women Photographers Grant 2017 and Portrait of Britain in British Journal of Photography 2017.
She created AULA, the first analogue-laboratory and photography school in Cuenca, and is co-founder of FotoAlbum, a platform of photography promotion in Ecuador. Cedillo is member of the collective FotoFeminas. In 2016, she self-published the photobook, “Los mundos de Tita”, a finalist in Dummy Photobook Kassel, Photobook Bristol, Belfast Photo, Gazebook, Iberoamerican Photobooks 2017, Latin American Photobook Award 2017.
IN OTHER IMAGE, WHEN WORDS FAIL
International Portfolio Showcase
National Library Plaza
05 Oct—30 Oct
Free admission
