Jessica Tormey, Mother Dearest (PEOPLE 2025)

This work is part of a broader exploration of the people who shaped me. It stands apart not in admiration, but in acknowledgment. Mother Dearest is not a portrait of nurture it is a portrait of power. She taught me to fear before I could read. Affection became a weapon. Control was masked as care. Her love came with strings so thick they choked , I love you’s replaced with words of disappointment. What looked like family was, in truth, a battleground where loyalty was demanded, and disobedience punished. These images are unsettling, It invites discomfort, not pity. It speaks for those raised in the shadow of conditional love and for those still learning that survival is its own form of rebellion.

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.