Butterfly

When my partner was diagnosed with Huntington's disease—a degenerative neurological disorder—in 2022, it brought about a radical change in our lives.

Mariposa (Butterfly) is a story of love, vulnerability, and care.

Magali and I began a relationship 22 years ago, one filled with precious moments. We married and shared a love for nature, animals, and the simple rhythms of everyday life.

After 16 years together, she developed the first symptoms of Huntington’s disease. She had warned me when we met that there was a 50% chance she would develop this genetic, neurological, and degenerative condition, which ran in her family. I never once considered leaving her.

Through my metaphorical black-and-white images, I channel my emotions and document the contradictions, achievements, and obstacles of our daily lives. Working with a complicit manner, I reveal the physical manifestations of the disease: due to involuntary twisting and writhing movements her hands take on the shape of a butterfly.

I archive texts and documents that provide context for our reality and bring me closer to our daily dilemmas. The writings take the form of a diary, capturing fragments of conversations, thoughts, gestures, and details that reflect fear, frustration, doubt, and disappointment—but also learning, the overcoming of obstacles, and, above all, the security of being together and inhabiting a sheltering nest.