My grandmother, a mother of eight and grandmother to eleven was like a shepherd to our family. She cared, remembered and prayed for all of us. She was so omnipresent in all our lives that we never thought that one day she might not be there, until that day came. Being her favourite grandchild, I spent a lot of time with her which I fondly and vividly remember. From the handmade toys from childhood, feeding me while my mother was occupied, to retelling of the old stories repeatedly to a grown-up me whenever I visited home on vacation. It would never tire me to sit with my Dadon (that's what we grandchildren called her) for hours on end to keep her company when she grew old slowly in front of my eyes. It never came to me that one day I’d try on keep grasping the threads of memory she left in me and all of her descendants. When she passed away, I photographed desperately the last of her personal belongings, many of which were often objects of curiosity and wonder when I was a kid. Now, a stark testament to her absence. I walked along memory lane as I photographed these objects and rekindled my time with her. This made me realise the transient nature of life that we have and our attempts to keep our loved ones and their memories in permanence.

The photographs consist of the last few items that belonged to my beloved grandmother. Being a Muslim woman, she gave up or donated most of her belongings and only a few personal items remained with her till the end; items of daily use and just two set of clothes and a pair of shoes. The pages of writings are from the notebook that my father used to communicate with her when she lost most of her hearing in the last months before passing. I never found many pictures of my grandmother in our family albums and now the photographs of these last remaining items and communications keep her memory alive for me and my family (Her eight children and their families). These are the last remaining signs and interactions of a once omnipresent person in our lives; our collection of images of absence.