Mother by Matthew Finn was published in 2017. Finn created this series of images over thirty years, photographing his mother at random times, with no intention of creating an archive of images. He tells us in the introduction of the book why it was created. Him and his mother were very close because his father was very absent during his childhood.

‘My father never lived with us and many times he would make promises that he never kept. My mother would wait to be picked up for a night out with him. I can remember her standing there dressed in her fawn, mohair coat, and he wouldn’t turn up. Eventually, she would retreat upstairs to take off her make up and going-out clothes and then return to the TV. This seemed to happen a lot.’

Finn recounts that it was discovered, after his death, that Finn’s father had multiple families across Leeds. He discovered a plethora of half brothers and sisters who had been fathered by the same man. This brought him and his mother even closer.

‘The more I knew about my father, the more I felt a need to protect my mum, to wrap her up in cotton wool, to be the supportive man in her life, someone who would not let her down.’

He explains that his mother began to direct the photography, enjoying the feeling of being wanted or needed for something. His mother was diagnosed with mixed dementia in 2013 and this ended their collaboration – she no longer recognised herself or her son. This book acts as a testament to their life together and therefore holds a lot of sentimental value to the photographer.

Finn won the Jerwood/ Photoworks Awards in 2015 for this publication.

This Guardian interview with Finn explores a more detailed explanation of the work.