The Self We Translate

The Self We Translate is an ongoing series that explores the fluidity of identity in a world where boundaries are constantly shifting and belonging is perpetually in flux. The project delves into the narratives of migration, cultural assimilation, and the emotional tension of navigating conflicting identities in the modern world.

 

Identity is portrayed not as a fixed state but as an ongoing translation; continuously reconstructed through memory, language, and the lived experience of displacement. The work examines what remains of a person’s sense of self when the world around them keeps shifting across geographies and generations.

 

Through intimate portraits, family archives, and landscapes between India and UK, the project traces how identity is not simply lost through migration but transformed quietly, persistently, and often without resolution. 

The Self We Translate originates from Shashank's observation of his parents' migration from north to west India in 1980s; and the cultural gap it created within his own upbringing. This personal estrangement became the conceptual foundation of the project — further illuminated by the discovery of his father's journals documenting the journey westward and letters written by his grandmother to his mother.