At times reflecting on one’s past can be a daunting task. You are constantly asking yourself – did that ever happen that way? Or are you making it up right now in your mind as you are thinking about it. But what if you had a preserved visual moment that you could point to during those reflections? You think maybe that can help you ease that feeling right? Specifically in relation to the one who brought you into this world and raised you.

I call my mother Ammu or Ma and I also used to call her by her nickname sometimes endearingly when I was a child which would bother all of her siblings as they would see this as an act of disrespect toward her.
I began photographing my mother at the age of 14 years old. Using a Canon DSLR that my late father got for me from Spain. Our photographic relationship was based on my need to practice my skills; it was purely instinctual. However, as years passed and I started taking in more of the world around me, I saw the images as a testament for our relationship. The curation of these photographs was primarily put together for a grant application (I did not get) from all the miscellaneous images I had made of my mother since I was 13. During that process, I found myself gravitating towards all that was not selected during the initial editing stage. From all the un-focused to the images that might’ve ended up in a different series. I also had to keep in mind the relationship I shared with her – which could be described as tumultuous at best. And also the fact that my mother did not enjoy having her portraits of her shown to anyone. So I thought to myself; how do you go on about something like that? Which led me to this zine.

My Mother & Her Faith (photographs 2017 – 2024) presents a non-linear journey from the perspective of an offspring’s desire to preserve the woman who raised him.