Witholding

During the Covid-19 pandemic, I started taking self-portraits, experimenting with motion and long exposures. This project explored themes of belonging not just in a physical house and family, but within my own skin, despite discomfort looking in the mirror let alone being photographed. As a recovered anorexic, I still had self loathing at the center of a life created to be high functioning. My first generation Indian American identity often kept me from belonging in either culture. Self-portraiture enabled pushing past perfection to unleash unresolved childhood trauma. These photographs uncover the ugly and beautiful, offering profound healing, loving and acceptance.