Mitti di Khusbhoo (the smell of the land)

Mitti di Khushboo is a body of work that chronicles thestories of migration of Dhaliwal-Boora's family from Panjab to Birmingham through a series of portraits, handwritten stories and old family photographs. "The first time my mom met my dad was at Heathrow airport in the late 1970's. More than once I've reflected on how different my life would have been if they hadn't moved to England, or if the Empire hadn't colonised the lands of my ancestors and instead I had been born and raised in Panjab. Having become a mother myself in 2016, the stories of my family and their roots are something that I felt a pressing need to record. And after the passing of my grandmother in April 2018, who was the cornerstone and matriarch of our family, I began the process of making Mitti di Khushboo. In generations to come I want the memories and sacrifices of our elders to be treasured and understood. That future generations come to understand the importance of migration and the sacrifices the first of our family made for us to have the life we live now. It is the stories of our elder generations being born inIndia but migrating to England, the hard work and graft they put in here to make a life for their families, that I want to treasure. My mom worked in sewing factories and my dad as a taxi driver, before owning a corner-shop newsagents, which they still run to this day. And I know this isn't just the story of my family, but one that echoes throughout migrant communities, whose families are trying to give their children a better chance to thrive." - Jaskirt 2021 Dhaliwal-Boora is currently working to make this series of work into a book.