Orchid (2022 - ongoing)

Orchid explores the quiet loss that comes with migration—the gradual erosion of culture, language, and self in the effort to belong. When I left home at 18 and moved to a new country, I distanced myself from the traditions that had shaped me, believing it was the only way to fit in. Only later did I begin to feel the weight of what I had left behind.

Through photography, I navigate this sense of dislocation, using the camera to reconnect with my past and piece together a fractured identity. The project revolves around photographing my mother, Shuhana—observing her, understanding her, and rediscovering myself through her presence. The images are made during my return visits to Malaysia as an adult, weaving new photographs with archival family images—photographs my parents took of each other before I was born. These images serve as both a bridge and a reflection, tracing the shifting contours of memory, identity, and home.

In Orchid, I confront generational trauma and attempt to break cycles of loss. I seek to understand what my mother had to carry, to recognise how her experiences continue to shape me, and to reclaim parts of myself that migration had severed. Without the camera, I am simply her daughter. With it, I find a sense of agency, a space to engage, observe, and understand how migration reshapes us over time. Photography becomes both a tool and a witness, allowing me to piece together an evolving relationship with my mother while rebuilding what was once lost.