COMFORTABLE OLD AGE – Seppo Verho

“Watching my parents age and die, I realized that I had been deceived. Old age, adorned with hobbies and grandchildren, is just a passing phase. Usually, it crashes dramatically into the worst disease of life or a slow disintegration,” says Seppo Verho.

In old age, one must give up essential things: joints stiffen, senses dull, circles shrink, loneliness strikes. Eventually, even understanding fades. This process does not go smoothly for everyone. It can cause horror, bitterness, anger, or depression.

“I realized I was at an age where it was too late to die young. I too have to deal with and face the troubles of old age somehow. Would I learn to let go at the right moment? Can I be content with my all-too-ordinary life? A comfortable old age might partly be a matter of attitude.”

The ‘Comfortable Old Age’ series of images was born from these premises. Seppo Verho has photographed his mother and himself. The starting points are personal, but the topic is more broadly relevant as the large age cohorts grow older. The problems of senior care have been widely discussed, but the experience of old age and facing death have not been as much.

Translated with Copilot