The Empty Bench (2019)
When he was eight years old, Nael Quraishi and his mother left Pakistan to start a new life. Sixteen years later, in the video portrait ‘The Empty Bench’, he recounts how he spent months trying in vain to bring his relatives together for a reunion in Karachi. Filmed against a backdrop of family gardens and drying laundry, Quraishi recorded his telephone conversations. He asked each family member to photograph his or her garden and post it in a WhatsApp group, as an alternative to being together in person. Although the physical distance directly impacts their personal lives and relationships, this globally-scattered family of migrants still succeeds in staying connected.
Nael Quraishi’s work stems from memories of his childhood and growing up in totally different cultures: those of Pakistan and the United Kingdom. The British-Pakistani photographer and filmmaker deals with subjects such as nostalgia, migration and national identity, in often intuitively made films and images.
camera and montage: Nael Quraishi and Ayessha Quraishi | photography: Taimur Khan, Ayessha Quraishi, Farida Khan, Aiman Haroon, Omar Quraishi, Kahal Mallaghan, Faaiz Quraishi, Moneeza Khan and Nael Quraishi | with thanks to: Umrana Kazmi, Brian Mallaghan and Saima Dabir
