stories we did not tell

I remember the day my sister left our home in Turkmenistan, especially the last minutes before her departure to Georgia. Looking at me and our dad through the window of the train, she was crying. I was too. This is probably the strongest memory I have of her of all the time we had together before her move.

She was only 16, and I was 13. Our next meeting happened 10 years later.

This project began as an attempt to get closer to my sister but eventually became an exploration of our relationship. The void that ten year separation created won’t be filled with new memories, but as adults with our own families, we are discovering a new familiarity. 

This project is also a reflection of our newly formed roles, a mother and an aunt, as my sister gave birth to her first child five years ago — something that redefines our relationships, changes the dynamic within, and even brings us back to our childhood — to the time before the separation.

2022 — WIP.