Need to be needed

Anna Clarén has during her entire career directed her attention towards her closest family, using her camera as a tool of exploring life. In this book she is delving into the third level of Maslow’s pyramid of needs – the need to be needed. She asks: Who am I in my family, and who am I without them? Who really needs whom?

In her images, she investigates the family as a constellation with the inherent power to unite people in their efforts to satisfy their need to be needed. Adults usually choose their family, while children are born into theirs. It is easy to see children’s immediate need for care, but could adults have an equally significant need to be needed? What demands does the family place on us? What happens to individuals’ privacy and autonomy? Why do we belong to a family constellation, what propels us towards the family, and what needs are we looking to satisfy?

This intimate and profound depiction of a family and their everyday life is not only an art book but also a wonderful gift.