portrait of a home (and other short stories)

Photo Essay by Parizad D

When i began exploring analogue mediums, I soon realized that what I gravitated towards the most was shooting simple yet meaningful moments from my everyday life. often seemingly mundane, yet poignantly beautiful – capturing these little snippets, felt like the perfect way to immortalise the transitory nature of our human existence.

Portrait of a Home was shot in Goa earlier this year, documenting an old friend’s beautiful childhood home. Goan spaces have always fascinated me, but I have mostly experienced them as an outsider – often feeling like I was unwittingly contributing to the gentrification of a place steeped in its own culture and history. At the same time, probably owing to my Parsi heritage and our affinity towards a similar aesthetic, there has always been a strange sense of familiarity. The high tiled roof, the ornate wooden carvings, the same mosaic flowers that line the floors of my own parental home – all of it and so much more, brought to the surface a sense of immense nostalgia and yearning. I believe that the walls of people’s homes are teeming with stories, and if only for a brief moment, it was wonderful to hear what this enchanting beauty had to say.

(and other short stories) is a collection of visual fragments from the year that has been. my work on film is quite personal in nature. Not only does it serve as a way to hone my craft but it also allows me to navigate my mind by immersing myself into creative play. Part meditation; part catharsis – the process allows me to circumvent the cognitive part of my thoughts and access the feelings and instincts buried below them.

Oftentimes, these feelings give rise to a heightened state of melancholia, but it only serves to fuel the desire to create. to create, in order to let go; let go in order to move on; to move on in order to grow. To grow, in order to create.

Lather, rinse, repeat; the circle is complete.


This piece is a collection of photographs shot over the past year. It is an excerpt from journal – a long-form photography project, documenting my daily life on film.

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editor's note

Volume 10

contact | shadow | fringe

I’ve been reflecting on the theme for our tenth volume, a lovely milestone that coincides serendipitously with the warehouse’s tenth year, and how it feels apt for the moment we find ourselves in currently. The theme straddles a threshold. The movement from this side to the far side. It isn’t inherently accompanied by an emotion. And yet, I feel it suggests a sense of hopefulness. 

This isn’t in a vacuum but is influenced by two events that concern themselves with a tremendous threshold: our atmosphere and the expanse beyond it. I am referring to the successful flyby mission around the moon by the Artemis II and the release of the film “Project Hail Mary” (adapted from Andy Weir’s novel of the same name). These two events, coinciding in this manner, serve less as random happenstance and more as a reminder, as Carl Sagan said, “The Cosmos is within us. We are made of star-stuff.” A reminder that everything out there, is also everything in here. It serves as a reminder for hope that as we resume our exploration of the darkest depths of the universe, we must take that strength to step forward from our own personal shadows.

Shadows can be freeing. There is comfort in creating, expressing, and working without scrutiny or pressure or expectation. It has potential for great freedom, movement, and discovery. However, when the driving force isn’t exploration then it can be crippling and lead to paralysis. In those moments, “coincidental” events like these can be arresting and provide a sense of hope that the next step is all that matters. One step at a time soon becomes many past an imposing threshold. As we gather momentum, pressure is bound to build. It is here, with changed circumstances, that the intention must persevere. Learning the rules, allows the impact of breaking them to feel that much sweeter, but that isn’t necessary. Acting from pure instinct allows for an innate expression to present itself. It is balancing this, instinct versus experience, that proves vital to take experience into one’s stride with child-like instinct and intention.

Our focus, at imprint and G5A, on independent stories allows this freedom. It is something we work to preserve so that the experience of ten volumes and ten years, respectively, does not weigh us down but lifts us up through the shadows and into the expanse. This is not easy but it is simple. When you default to curiosity and wonder, it isn’t a matter of ‘if’ but ‘when’.

We’re excited for Volume 10 and everything it will hold.