Lost Space Living in Our Mind

“Lost Space Living in Our Mind” is a handmade artist monograph about living in a place and the experience while revealing the place as both a subject and a collaborator. The book emerged when the novelty, particularity and excitement faded away. It was born from the feelings that seeped in the depths of our soul, into our existence. When acceptance and contradictions of the moment lost its grip on us. It is the sudden deep breath that pauses everything and the moment spreads through our existence. Just the hopping of a little bird, the sudden darkening of the sky in anticipation of monsoon rain, or the woman on the roof taking a moment of pause to look at the sky after hanging the washed clothes. Suddenly we are freed from the moment; something rises like the swelling tide. It is a book when feelings and remembrance become the reflection of each other.

The book starts with the collage from cut-out photos with pastels and text. Delving into scattered memories and realizations, we forged a nonlinear storyline of places embarking on a slow journey. The exploration pushed our inner and outer boundaries, confronting vulnerabilities. It spans across multiple spaces having been interconnected through memories or absence of it. One memory has led to the recollection of another from an entirely different time and place. The places have all bled into a single collage made of vivid yet intangible moments. Perhaps, it is not about a specific place at all, but more about the idea of the place itself. The new context of the experience is created with writings by three protagonists.

Photographs, editing, sequencing: Laila Nahar / Book Concept and Book design: Laila Nahar, Tanveer Khondker - / Texts: Jaya Mishra, Tanveer Khondker, Laila Nahar / Language: English / Self-Published / Variable Edition of Hand-bound copies in May, 2025 /

Notes about the book: The book is the result of year-long collaborations between three individuals: Jaya Mishra, Tanveer Khondker and Laila Nahar. After the first draft, Laila sent the dummy to Jaya and Tanveer who started writing their feeling through poems.

Places are: Pondicherry, Narasinganpettai, Tabo in the Spiti Valley (India), Dhaka, Chandipur, Ratargul (Bangladesh).

Book structure: The book is handsewn Coptic binding with exposed spine and housed in a folding slipcase with a small booklet. Several 4-flap foldouts in the book.

Total 148 pages, 128 photos. Several 4-flap fold-outs.

- 9x6.5 inches.

To acquire/purchase, please email me.

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In Stillness