Exploring Cultural Duality
This photography project delves into the complex layers of cultural identity among South Asian youth in Croydon, UK. Discover how young South Asians in the UK navigate their cultural identities through portraits and personal commentary.
Unveiling Cultural Narratives
Throughout the many diasporas in the UK, young people grow up negotiating different cultural identities. In many first and second generation South Asian families children are expected to connect with ‘their culture’ at home and within their ethnic communities through food, clothing, religion, rituals, and the arts. At the same time they are teenagers who belong to the wider culture in the UK, who form identities in relation to their peers and a range of cultural references.
How they navigate these different influences and what they understand as culture are questions that are explored through a series of portraits and interviews with young people (aged 13-18) from the South Asian community in Croydon and their parents/guardians.
The ongoing project is an opportunity for the young people to reflect on how they present themselves in different social settings. And provides a glimpse into the multiple identities they embody as they develop their own authentic sense of cultural connection.
“I liked the big image display. I also enjoyed looking at the photographs of others. It was a good learning experience as I was asked questions about my culture which made me learn about my own culture and understanding of it.”
Pramath Prathap
Age 13
“I liked the writing about the project and I also liked how big the pictures were.”
Pradhanya
Age 18
Exhibition
Fairfield Halls
March 20-23, 2024
The project was exhibited for the first time in the Rec Foyer at Fairfield Halls. It was one of the last events during the Croydon Borough of Culture 2023-2024.
Purley Library
April 4-May 16, 2024
The project was installed at the Purley Library for six weeks in April and May 2024.