This photograph is part of a broader effort in my practice to use fiction as a way of returning to the past, and confronting erasure in both the archive and our own memories.
I grew up in a Christian home, where going to church and being around family and friends on Sundays was all we looked forward to during the week. This nostalgic photograph is a memento of those moments after church when we would all head back home or have lunch together at a bar. More than just a commute from church, this image represents those seemingly insignificant moments from my past that have lingered longer than the grand occasions, and have in some way become a symbol of my childhood. It reflects how the more mundane parts of our lives shape who we become and how we come to see the world.
Who would have thought that a photograph of a man on a bicycle maneuvering through a family in a pedestrian lane could become such a poignant representation of one’s childhood? I believe that’s the power of the ordinary, in-between moments of our lives. I titled this photograph Many Reasons to Live Again as a response to that thought. It’s a reminder for both myself and my audience to seize the day and embrace our short, beautiful lives, however uneventful life may seem in the moment.
Carlos Idun-Tawiah
