My Body. My Self.
Philadelphia, September 2017
I inadvertently found myself in the United States and now it is home. Over the past 30 years I witnessed an increasing openness and tolerance of diversity, which is now under attack. Border control, even though I am a citizen, feels like it is about me. I view my body at this time, exploring the public, intimate and personal space.
With resurgent racism and expectation of cultural assimilation in the United States, the immigrant body is in a threatened space. I walk in public spaces in my sari to visually state, “I belong here.” As I communicate across barriers created by the way I look, I heal. The body has its own memory, and by working through my fear, I pull my past into the present.
Inspired by the work of Nan Goldin, Carrie Mae Weems and Deanna Lawson, I shift the lens to my home. In real and reconstructed moments in my living room, kitchen and bedroom I explore the texture of relationships. At my most vulnerable, these photographs reflect my most authentic self — a life lived through relationships.
