New Memories

Artist Statement

During the pandemic, I started to explore the woods near my house to deal with the shut downs. Shortly thereafter, my mother got seriously ill. She was in India, I was in the U.S., trapped by the lockdowns. I needed to meditate to manage the uncertainty of what each day would bring, this I found by doing photography in nature.

She passed away, and I did not get to see her. I now sought stillness to reflect and contemplate. As an only child and immigrant, I felt that my childhood world had completely disappeared. I needed to find goodness in the world despite my sadness.

Taking a few moments each week to admire the majesty of nature and the beauty of light gave me hope. I started to shoot with film cameras, the toy camera Holga and a Yashica TLR. I fell in love with film cameras. They let me be fully present in the moment when I shot the twelve frames that the film allowed, all other emotions took a pause. I was able to see the magic in the world again.

The process of gold leafing my photographs is deeply meditative. It’s also an homage to my mother who loved gold. In shooting the world that I live in now and weaving in all the elements that shaped me I am making new memories.