My parents got divorced when I was 15. I didn’t believe that I could rely on them any longer so, all of a sudden, I had to grow up in one day. First, I was trying to become a mom for my mom but it felt wrong.

This project is 6 years compressed into 13 images. Photography became a tool to release the pain and a way to tell my mother what I was feeling. We have hardly ever spoken about it. I was raised in a family which taught me to smile when it’s hard; hide your problems; pretend that you are OK even when you are not.

But you cannot go any further when you are full of pain and fear. Eventually you realize that you can’t ignore it, that it’s time to face the truth and heal yourself. I did this by putting some of my memories on the shelf.

—Daria Klimasheva