Father

Following on from Santa Barbara, Father offers an intimate and captivating narrative around the themes of estrangement and reconnection, combining documentary photographs, family snapshots, texts and period documents. Diana Markosian attempts to reconstruct the image of a familiar stranger, her father, who disappeared from her life when she was seven. The book explores his absence, his search for her and their reconciliation, almost twenty years later when she reunites with him in Armenia, as well as the shared emptiness of their long separation.

The book tackles the universal issues of fatherhood, separation, absence, estrangement and reunion through a richly documented, intimate family narrative. As a tangible expression of this universality, the photographer has included an empty envelope inside each book, inviting readers to share their own stories of loss and reconnection with family members or loved ones. These letters can then be sent to the artist to be collected and integrated into a future exhibition devoted to her work.