LAILA NAHAR | Will you come to Rome with me?, 2023

‘Will you come to Rome with me?’  is a handmade artist photobook exploring memories of my mother through family portraits and places in film/slides and texts from my journals. Memories are weaved together like sarees that my mother used to drape in. I am looking back on memories that were dear to my mother and those that I grew up with. Memories that stayed in my dreams and consciousness, and those that almost faded. Every few years my mother seemed to shed her old self to new roles but, essence of her never changed. I look for the passage of time belonged to us, sense of her and the invisible bond connecting me with her. It is a dialogue of a trip to Rome together; a journey that we never took. But it is a story of her presence in me and me in her. Wherever I can be, she can be in me and I in her. I had been journaling on this project since 2009 - bits and pieces here and there, and gathering photos as well.  The workshop by Yumi Goto (Reminder Photography Stronghold) inspired me to face this very personal journey of mine and make possible the artist book form.  

BIO

Laila Nahar is a lens-based artist and book-maker in California, USA. She lived her life in stark cultural contrast, born and brought up in Bangladesh and eventually migrated to USA. Laila is primarily a self-taught photographer and handmade artist book-maker exploring belonging, memory, cultural and collective identity. She took photo bookmaking workshops with Elizabeth Avedon, Void Impromptu (Publisher), Melanie McWhorter, Yumi Goto, Center of Book Arts in NYC and Susan Kae Grant. 'Will you come to Rome with me?' handmade artist book selected for the DUMMY AWARD 2024 shortlist. ‘I Have Been Here Before’ handmade photobook selected for the ‘12th Annual Self-Published PhotoBook Show’ (Feb22). Shortlisted in the Independent Category Lucie Photo Book Prize 2022. Also, featured in PhotoBook Journal and Thinkingaboutphoto. 'Unfolding: Color of Life - Old Delhi' hand-made photobook selected for the ‘13th Annual Self-Published PhotoBook Show' Griffin Museum of Photography (Nov-Feb23). 'Unfolding' selected as one of best photobooks in 2022 by Women/non-binary on TheLuupe.com. Honorable mention in "Back on the Shelf" by FilterPhoto in exhibition ('23).  Photographs of these projects in several group exhibitions by PH21, F-Stop, PhotoPlace, SEC4P, thecuratedfridge, 18th Julia Margaret Award, Griffin Museum of Photography etc. Laila's handmade artist photobooks are in permanent collections of several libraries, including University of Colorado Boulder Libraries, Rhode Islands School of Design, University of Richmond, Virgina etc.