Bristol photographer takes photos to create ‘new reminiscences’

An Iranian photographer has documented staying in stranger’s houses to share her expertise of migration.

After shifting to Bristol six years in the past, Mana Baoosh stated she realised she was fighting “anxiety and depression” and feeling homesick and, because of this, stopped with the ability to recall sure intervals of her previous.

The pictures MA pupil determined to tackle a mission the place she might make new reminiscences with strangers.

The ‘We Are More Than Strangers’ collection has seen her keep within the houses of greater than 30 individuals in England and Wales as a method of “remembering how it felt to belong”.

“When the pandemic began I was already feeling homesick, but the travel restrictions made it impossible to return home, which intensified those feelings,” she stated.

“As time went on, I faced many other challenges – ups and downs that eventually led to depression and anxiety, deeply affecting my life.”

“There came a point when I realised I was struggling to recall certain periods of my past and it felt as though I was experiencing memory loss around specific moments of my life,” added Ms Baoosh, who’s finding out on the University of the West of England (UWE).

“I now want to remember how it feels to belong somewhere – driven by a desire to avoid further loss and to preserve the past, create new memories moving forward.”

Going into different individuals’s “private worlds” Ms Baoosh would stick with them for a number of days and maintain a digicam on a tripod within the nook of a room chosen by the host.

“I can say that all of them [the hosts] have become friends,” she added.

Sian Trenberth, 62, from Cardiff, who took half within the mission stated it actually solidified her friendship with Ms Baoosh and made her query what it have to be like to maneuver to a distinct nation.

“In her body of work, some of her subjects were new to Britain – I’ve always lived in the same place,” she stated.

“It did make me think about what it is like to leave your country and live somewhere completely different and what that might mean.

“Since this mission she’s turn into a pal – that is a really particular factor.”

Ms Baoosh stated the We Are More Than Strangers collection, is one thing she needs to proceed till she has stayed with 50 members, after which it will likely be exhibited in Bristol and Wales.