"Love is stronger than disease": a photo project about how an elderly couple struggled with Alzheimer's disease

Fausto Pausini was born in Rome and has been working in photography since the age of 18. For the Mirella photo project, he spent months filming a woman who had been faithfully caring for her husband with Alzheimer's disease for six years. Mirella and Luigi have lived together for more than 40 years. When Luigi turned 65, he began to show the first signs of dementia. At first he ceased to understand the purpose of cutlery, then to distinguish between day and night — and, eventually, to recognize his wife. In 2011, he died surrounded by his family.

In 2013, for a series of images "Mirella", Podavini received the first prize at the main documentary photography competition World Press Photo. We publish this series together with a translation of the photographer's interview about working on the project.

How did you meet Mirella and Luigi? How did you convince them to shoot with you?

I've known them for ages. I convinced them to shoot by explaining the idea of my project — initially I wanted to capture the effects of Alzheimer's disease.

How long have you been photographing them?

I worked on Mirella for four years, from 2009 to 2012, including research and photo processing.

Judging by the title, the main character of your report is Mirella. You focused your attention on her love and care for her husband, and not on Luigi's illness, making "Mirella" a fascinating love story instead of a document about the course of the disease. Why did you choose this approach?

As I said, my initial idea was to describe the effects of Alzheimer's. All I did at the first stage of the project was coldly record Luigi's illness. But I wanted to do something more — to show that Alzheimer's disease can have a devastating effect not only on the patients themselves, but also on the people dear to them who help them. So I switched to Mirella, and as a result, she became the center of my work.

In your photos, the moments from the life of Mirella and Luigi look so everyday, but at the same time tender and intimately personal that, looking at them, it's hard to believe in the presence of someone else with a camera. How did you manage to arouse such confidence in yourself, despite the fact that Luigi's condition was constantly deteriorating?

I started working on the project when Luigi's health was not so bad. He took the presence of my camera for granted, as part of his normal life. Strangely enough, it was most difficult for me when almost nothing was happening: then it suddenly became clear that I was there. On the other hand, it was easier to become invisible and shoot at the right moments when all Mirella's attention was on her husband.

In May 2011, Luigi died. Are you and Mirella still in touch?

Yes, of course! In fact, I'm still photographing her. I don't know what to do with these pictures yet, but the last photo in the "Mirella" series (the one where she holds her little nephew) completes this chapter and at the same time begins a new one.

You started photographing at the age of 18 and have done a lot of social reporting around the world: Peru, Kenya, Ethiopia. What was it like for you to work on a story that unfolded within four walls in Rome, the city where you were born?

Every report, every work has its own tricks. You get emotionally involved on different levels every time. Places sometimes help, and sometimes they don't. It was very difficult to create a whole long-term project inside one apartment. I had problems with framing and getting the best light possible. As for Rome, I love working there because I know it so well that I have to make an effort to distance myself from it and look at it neutrally.

What have you learned about Alzheimer's disease that more people should know?

A lot of things! Initially, I didn't know anything about her. I had to study this topic before I started shooting. First of all, as I wanted to show in my work, the disease affects the patient and his assistants equally. Caring for those who suffer from Alzheimer's requires incredible patience. It's radically life-changing.

Alzheimer's does not occur at any particular age. Frequent memory lapses should not be underestimated: this can be a symptom. The disease can be excruciating from the very beginning. Progressing, it causes insurmountable difficulties that affect all areas of the patient's life. To date, it is impossible to finally stop the disease. Therapy differs from patient to patient, from hospital to hospital. It is impossible to predict how a particular patient will react to a particular method of treatment, so the selected set of measures may be interrupted or radically changed.

What, in your opinion, is the secret of a good reportage?

Receptivity, respectful attitude, flair. Curiosity, endurance, empathy in relation to what you shoot. You need to be involved, but never forget that you are a photographer. I choose medium and long-term projects: then there is a chance to delve into history and get such pictures that, for some strange reason, will be of the right quality.

I took this photo shortly after I took off Luigi's birthday cake. This dinner was not simple, but when it came time for the cake, everything changed for a few seconds: for a moment it seemed that there was no illness. I clicked the shutter as soon as I saw Luigi's smile, trying to capture a fleeting moment of his imaginary normality.