Saturday 14th August Deport Artspace saw a photographic exhibition called ‘A Migrant’s Path’ by Abhi Chinniah who presented her best shots with stories that would truly resonate with each migrant living in Aotearoa.

The beauty of this exhibition comes from the gorgeous ladies that are captured in these frames, from different ethnicity and culture, predominantly South Asian countries. Something that made them come out alive at the Artspace was their stories. Each reflecting on their journey of being a migrant in New Zealand.

Abhi – the muse herself for this project reflects her journey settling in New Zealand and in search of belonging, even though her memories kept taking her back to her hometown. She does say that with this pandemic you are far away from this notion of home (hometown).

Each picture in the exhibition had a story along with them that were captured by Abhi in a traditional look, where the women were clad in their traditional clothes. The stories were raw and heart touching, they would immediately give you a sense of belonging!

The experiences shared by the ladies whether they had gone through certain situations or are going through resonate immediately if you are a migrant settled in New Zealand. The same situations and the very similar feeling.

Abhi’s work is more than just a praise because she wants to embrace the experiences she has gone through and wants to initiate a sense of belongingness with all the migrant women irrespective for their colour, race or ethnicity.

With poetry by published author Sudha Rao, and music by Karnan Saba this is a must-see photographic exhibition.

Please note with alert level 4 in place New Zealand is under a lockdown, the exhibition is discontinued at the moment and will been going online soon. However, this exhibition will be taking place in Hamilton from 15th October – 22nd November 2021. These images published are for print use only, please contact Abhi Chinniah on sideproject.live@gmail.com for more information – Vritti Parasher (Please note this story was written before the alert level 4 lockdown)

About Abhi Chinniah

Abhi Chinniah is a portrait photographer, podcaster, and writer. Her debut photographic series Light Skin Dark Skin used portraits of Kiwi women to explore the journeys people have to take as a result of the colour of their skin. She started her podcast Her Skin in June 2020, connecting with minority groups around the world. Her ongoing work celebrates the diverse cultures existing in Aotearoa. Drawing from her lived experiences, Abhi uses portraiture to elevate marginalized voices, women of colour, migrant communities, explore colorism and everything in between.

Born in Christchurch to Sri Lankan Malaysian parents, Abhi grew up in east-coast Malaysia. Her interest in portraiture began as a teenager when she was given a point-and-shoot camera. Abhi didn’t realize photography was her passion until her mid-twenties when between jobs she picked up a camera and never looked back.

Abhi resides in Auckland with her husband and their Border Collie.