Much of the discourse on diaspora focuses on children of immigrants and their complicated relationships to “home,” belonging, and hybridity. But what about the generation before us? My mother has lived more of her life in Canada than in Panjab. Her diasporic experience is not one of adolescence or identity formation, but of adulthood, labour, motherhood, and everyday negotiation. I wanted to be curious about this life, to see how diaspora looks from her perspective and to recognize that her story is shaped by contradictions, adaptation, and humour as much as my own.

This project asks what happens when we allow diasporic mothers to exist outside symbolic roles. What if they are not only caretakers or preservers of “tradition,” but also women who binge television shows, count change, and indulge in moments of self-care? These portrayals are not meant to ridicule, but to honour specificity, recognizing how quirks and humour give depth to lived experience.

The series consists of six images: my mother in cartoon pajamas holding the cat she didn’t want; eating ramen from the pan; putting on lipstick in her Tim Hortons uniform; rolling tips on the carpet; oiling my hair with Pretty Little Liars on in the background; and exercising in the living room. These scenes reveal how domestic life, popular culture, and service work intersect in diasporic motherhood.

I photographed her in overexposed light, bathing her in brightness to soften her presence and illuminate the ordinary. The images invite viewers to consider how humour and everyday detail can disrupt stereotypes and open space for more expansive understandings of diasporic life across generations.