Beth Prodger

Siblings

Siblings are complex. The relationship between siblings is, in most cases, incomparable to another relationship in your life. At least, this is the case for me. Cicirelli (1995) stated “the relationship with a sibling is usually the longest relationship that an individual will experience in their lifetime.” This duration is not measured by the quality of time spent together, but rather for how long that person has or will be in your life.

With this project I wanted to explore the interaction between siblings whilst observing their relationship too. From the offset, I wanted to gain a greater insight into how and why sibling relationships differ between families. I grew up in an environment with aunts and uncles that I never saw or visited due to family issues. Whereas my sister and I are very close we, like many other siblings, have experienced our ups and downs. Retrospectively, I know much of this was down to me idolising my sister. From my experience spent with different sets of siblings, ranging from 4 to 40 years old, I realised that there was always a degree of honesty with how they spoke with one another. Every relationship is different and Siblings is a reflection of those relationships. It looks at both the subject’s collectivity and individuality.

This project is dedicated to my sister, Libby.