Ghar
Bhavya Shah
Ghar is an exploration of duality—of identity, belonging, and the experience of living between two worlds. This project delves into the tension between independence and connection, tradition and modernity, examining how cultural and emotional dualities shape our sense of self. As someone physically rooted in New York but emotionally tethered to India, my identity feels stretched across continents, suspended between two existences. Home, once a singular concept, now feels fractured—preserved only through memory, sound, and the smallest details of routine. Ghar challenges the notion of home as a fixed place, instead proposing that it exists in pieces, scattered across time and space, stored in ways beyond our control.
At the heart of Ghar is a film that juxtaposes parallel moments from life in New York City and India. Through a split-screen format, these visuals mirror each other—capturing the mundane yet deeply significant decisions that reveal cultural disparities. ultimately seeking to dismantle the illusion of home as a singular, rooted entity, instead presenting it as something we gather, something we store, even when it feels out of reach.
This experience extends beyond the screen, postcards that guides the audience through emotional shifts. Stills from the film, interwoven with evocative text and color gradients, serve as a narrative device—signifying emotional transitions such as loneliness (blue/gray), warmth and connection (yellow/red), and peace and self-discovery (purple to pink). The zine functions as both a companion piece and an archive of fragmented belonging, inviting the audience to engage with their own experiences of home and identity.