Isolated in the confinement of her Los Angeles home during the covid lockdown, Indian-born American artist Rohina Hoffman takes us on a metaphorical journey connecting her roots to food through the rituals of daily meals. Embrace combines two deeply personal photographic series.
In Gratitude is an homage to food and family. Created during the early days of the pandemic, it is a series of portraits of Rohina and her family holding the fresh produce they used to create their daily meals. The act of creating photographs and preparing food became an almost meditative practice, offering structure and grounding during unsettling times. The work is “seasoned” with Hoffman’s poetry.
Generation 1.75 is a visual memoir that explores identity, belonging, and the complexities of acculturation. Born in India in 1968, Rohina was raised by her grandparents until age 5 when she was reunited with her parents in America. Her essay in the book, ‘Not All Peacocks are Blue’, published in English and translated into Hindi, provides a deeper look into the photographer’s background from her early childhood through the present and serves as a bridge between the two projects.
The Griffin will also host an online talk with Rohina on Wednesday, May 17 at 7pm EST.
The book Embrace also includes essays by Paula Tognarelli, the former Executive Director of the Griffin Museum of Photography, and Geeta Kothari, senior editor of the Kenyon Review. The book is designed by Caleb Cain Marcus, head of the design studio Luminosity Lab.
About the Artist:
Rohina Hoffman is an Indian-born American artist whose narrative work focuses on themes of identity, home, adolescence, and the female experience. Raised in New Jersey but now residing in California, Rohina received her BS in Neuroscience and MD both from Brown University. She also studied photography at the Rhode Island School of Design. Rohina published her first monograph Hair Stories with Damiani Editore (February 2019) accompanied by a solo exhibition at Brown University’s Alpert Medical School. Hair Stories is held in many public collections and university libraries. Her photographs have been exhibited widely in juried shows and in 2021 she was the winner of the Purchase Award with Atlanta Photography Group and several of her prints were acquired by the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, Georgia.
For more information about Rohina Hoffman visit her website: https://rohinahoffman.com where you can order a signed copy of Embrace.
Exhibition
Rohina Hoffman : Embrace
April 21-May 28, 2023
The Griffin Museum of Photography
67 Shore Rd
Winchester, MA 01890
https://griffinmuseum.org/
Book Details:
Rohina Hoffman : Embrace
Published by Schilt Publishing
Format: 8 x 0.8 x 10.2 inches.
144 pp with approx 50 photos
ISBN 9789053309544
$60 | €60 | £55
https://www.schiltpublishing.com/shop/books/new-releases/embrace/
