Sofia’s photographs are like memory incarnate: snapshots of an active life, captured moments of innocence and grace. Here, she speaks with me about nostalgia, homesickness, and the importance of connecting to our child selves.
Quinna Hadley (QH): Who are you and what do you do?
Sofia Brightwell (SB): My name is Sofia Luiz Brightwell and I’m an Anglo-Brazilian artist and cook living on an island in southeast Brazil.
QH: Why do you take photos?
SB: I’ve been a romantic ever since I was a child, and I remember the bubbling feeling of nostalgia that would swell inside of me when my family would tell stories, or when I would touch an old object - or, especially, when I would see photos from the past. I guess I photograph with the intention that one day, my memories and life will be the protagonists of this same nostalgia.
QH: When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
SB: It was a tie between a dentist and a farmer. I think I’ve leaned more towards farmer.
QH: What is your favorite book? Your favorite film?
SB: In recent years, the book that most marked me was “Wide Sargasso Sea” by Jean Rhys. It’s set primarily in Dominica and I read it in the grey slush of an English winter. I was so homesick for Brazil and the way Rhys would describe the colors, the heat, the exuberance and the savageness of nature that it would almost make me salivate with desire for my tropical home.
As far as films go, I really loved “Y tu mamá también” by Alfonso Cuarón and “The Graduate” by Mike Nichols - but quite honestly, when I’m sad or want comfort, my go to movies are “About Time” or any of the Harry Potters.
QH: What is the most beautiful thing in your life?
SB: The people that I have around me.
QH: What do you love most in this world?
SB: Food.
QH: What is your biggest dream?
SB: To eat my way through India and to build my own home.
QH: What scares you the most?
SB: Losing my family.
QH: What do you like most about yourself?
SB: The way I love people and the way I cackle when I find something truly funny.
QH: What does ‘success’ mean to you?
SB: Being abundant with food, health, and love.
QH: Is there a piece of wisdom or advice that you’ve received in your life that has truly helped you, that you’d like to share with others?
SB: To never let go of the inner child inside of you. It’s the purest and most authentic version of yourself, and it deserves to be cherished. Little Sofia was often in the kitchen or in the world of crafts and creativity, and it’s there that I often find myself the happiest.
Sofia Luiz Brightwell, Instagram: @soufz
