EHA

‘EHA’ is a striking series of portraits of photographer Sirli Raitma’s own mother, portrayed in a series of unusual situations, poses and attire that hint at a slightly unsettling, cinematic narrative. Eha was born in Estonia in 1950, moving to Jersey and then on to London with her two daughters, just before the dawn of the new millennium. Widowed, suffering from epilepsy and lacking great command of English. For a long time she was happy, but, in 2015, out of the blue, Eha began to suffer from depression. Life became bleaker. Something had to be done. Photographer Sirli Raitma came up with a plan to give her mother something new to focus on, beyond her new procession of doctor’s appointments and medications. The ‘EHA’ project was born. What started as a bit of fun, a way to get out of the house and do something different, began to take on a life of its own. Eha, revealed herself to be a natural model, happy to play along with her daughter’s increasingly imaginative visual fantasies. 'We experiment and push things further each time.’