Sirli Raitma is a London based photographer, who has lived and worked in the UK since 2004. She was born and grew up in Suure-Jaani in Estonia. Sirli’s images span portraiture, landscapes and interiors, but portraiture – especially involving ambiguity via costume or displacement – is her heartland.
Project - Eha
EHA is a series of portraits of my mother, portrayed in a series of unusual situations, poses and attire. Eha was born in Estonia in 1950, moving to London with myself and my son (Harvin Alert), just before the dawn of the new millennium. Widowed, suffering from epilepsy and lacking great command of English, Eha stayed tightly involved in our lives. In 2015 Eha began to suffer from depression. Life became bleaker. Something had to be done. I came up with a plan to give her something new to focus on, beyond her new procession of doctor’s appointments and medications. The ‘EHA’ project was born.
‘Eha revealed herself to be a natural model, happy to play along with my increasingly imaginative visual fantasies. The ‘EHA’ project has had an effect on both of us. It is encouraging to see that the results for us are also having a resonance for others. The project has featured in UK and Estonian magazines, The feedback from readers has been fantastic and is consistent it that it has prompted many to look at their own family situations and how they treat each other.’