This series of portraits explores memory, displacement and inheritance and through using images of my family who arrived in the UK as refugees after the World War 2 and working from archival photographs and surviving fragments, I revisit faces that crossed borders under duress and started again in an unfamiliar country. These portraits are not only records of individuals, but traces of rupture, resilience and endurance.
My process is intentionally layered, by re-photographing, printing and reworking original materials, I acknowledge the fragility of both photographic surfaces and family histories. Scratches, tonal shifts and material imperfections become part of the narrative, echoing the instability of exile and the erosion of memory over time. The act of handling these images mirrors the act of handling inherited stories partial, worn, and deeply human.
At its core, this project asks how identity is shaped by forced migration, and how trauma and hope are transmitted across generations. Though rooted in my own family history, the work speaks to broader histories of displacement that continue today. These portraits are gestures of remembrance acts of care that reclaim visibility for lives interrupted, yet enduring.
