‘My Mother's Tender Script’ by Asiya Al. Sharabi

All About Photo is pleased to present ‘My Mother's Tender Script’ by Asiya Al. Sharabi

Part of the exclusive online showroom developed by All About Photo, this exhibition is on view for the month of February 2024 and includes twenty photographs from the series ‘My Mother's Tender Script'

My Mother's Tender Script

In 'My Mother's Tender Script,' series I delve into the poignant narrative woven by my late mother through her humble phone notebook. Born into a world that allowed her no childhood, she married at the tender age of 11, bereaved by widowhood at 15, and remarried my father at 17. Her story, shaped by hardship and early responsibilities, echoes resilience and determination.

Despite a lack of formal education, my mother found solace and expression in the kitchen, where she passionately honed her culinary skills, particularly in making bread. It was amidst the warmth of the hearth and the kneading of dough that her early story unfolded.

In contrast, my father, an erudite writer and journalist, led a life adorned with education and cultural experiences. A world away from my mother's, his path was adorned with receptions, travels around the globe, and literary engagements. Perhaps my mother sought a convergence, a meeting at a crossroads. She meticulously maintained her phone notebook, her personal treasure trove of contacts and thoughts. She adorned herself with fashionable attire and practiced writing and drawings in her notebook, expressing her longing for connection.

In making "My Mother! 's Tender Script," I transformed a black-and-white print from the late 1970s into an enlarged negative. I infused her delicate drawings and writings from the phone notebook, seamlessly incorporating them before employing the resino-pigmentype technique, invented in the mid-nineteenth century.

This creative endeavor isn't merely about replicating the past; it's a tribute to the resilience, struggles, and enduring legacy of my mother's indomitable spirit.