Rós Sansana cos Muir Éireann, An English Rose by the Irish Sea
A collaboration between Grace Margetson and her grandmother. Photography by Nikki McClarron.
Rós Sansana cos Muir Éireann, An English Rose by the Irish Sea
Photographed by Nikki McClarron, this is a collaboration with my grandmother, who turns 96 this month, at her home in Dublin as she tells us stories and styles herself in Irish designer Simone Rocha.
By Grace Margetson
My grandmother is one of the most important people in my life. I have wanted to make this work with her for years, but a series of life interruptions always got in the way. When it finally came to the day we arrived at her house in Dublin to shoot, I was elated. I am so grateful we got to do it. Nikki came with her baby, as she was still breastfeeding. There was something very special having our two families together in one room, hers at the early stage of life, mine at the end.
My grandmother’s brightly coloured house is part of the portrait. Pink carpets, walls, radiators, chairs, all warmed by the same rosy light. Other rooms are only yellow. Her own paintings sit among it all, with the books she has read and the clothes in her closet that hold her memories. It is layered with years of choosing and keeping.
A collaboration between Grace Margetson and her grandmother. Photography by Nikki McClarron.
A collaboration between Grace Margetson and her grandmother. Photography by Nikki McClarron.
A collaboration between Grace Margetson and her grandmother. Photography by Nikki McClarron.
A collaboration between Grace Margetson and her grandmother. Photography by Nikki McClarron.
I think of being in your 90s as the evening of one’s life, spending time reflecting on your day. As Nikki captures her, the stories arrive. An artist’s point of view on another artist, through image making and stories. Liverpool, where she grew up. Dublin, as it was. My grandad, the love of her life. Born into a third generation Irish family in Liverpool, she found herself back in Dublin one day with her cousin. It was that same day she said it was love at first sight with my grandad, and Dublin became her home.
“Her SAYINGS are my favourite. There is a confidence in her that has only grown with age. She is hilarious, and she is serious. Both are true. She still surprises me. She still makes me laugh.”
Her sayings are my favourite. There is a confidence in her that has only grown with age. She is hilarious, and she is serious. Both are true. She still surprises me. She still makes me laugh. The ones my friends love to repeat: “Always keep multiple options open, even if you have a boyfriend.” “Style, you either have it or you do not.” And a polite refusal of having only one gin and tonic : “A bird never flew on one wing.” And the old Dublin sayings, phrases that have almost died with the people who once said them. Some of what she says will disappear when she is gone. This is a way of holding it. I record her humour and her taste with every visit.
A collaboration between Grace Margetson and her grandmother. Photography by Nikki McClarron.
A collaboration between Grace Margetson and her grandmother. Photography by Nikki McClarron.
Photography by Nikki McClarron.
A collaboration between Grace Margetson and her grandmother. Photography by Nikki McClarron.
Some of my favourite images are where Nikki has captured grandmother styling herself with a veil, shaping it around her face, she has taught me not just how to dress but how to wear clothes. Another of my hands as I brush her hair, intimate and caring. A kind of love between granddaughter and grandmother that we rarely see. I love the idea of people meeting her as she is, not as an idea of ageing, or someone being looked after. Older women are rarely centred like this, with this much humour and agency. She is the author here, not the subject. That is what I hope comes through, her voice, her taste, her independence. It is a privilege to grow old. It is a privilege to know her.
