Care Instructions
July 2025I once found a well-worn jumpsuit in my closet with holes repeatedly stitched up in the same place. Witnessing and practicing this act of repair may very well have been one of the few things that coaxed out a sense of kinship with my everyday life that was otherwise steeped in constant consumption. That feeling followed me every time I saw a stranger wearing something well-worn. It seemed to me that the practice of sitting down and committing to care work—with needle and thread—was an act of resistance against a backdrop of convenience culture.
I started to wonder if others did the same—and I followed this curiosity throughout the tail end of 2024, spending afternoons talking to Dubai residents about their treasured objects: how they’ve mended and cared for things that hold so much of their personal histories. Through this exploration documented through recorded conversations and a zine, I was reminded that while consumer culture insists there’s always more to be had, often, what we need may already be here.
Directed by Pauline Doctolero
Featuring Imelda Theresa
Jared Maxilom
Nicole Domingo
Poojitha Lakshman
Anwita Chirravuri
Araceli Gallego
Alegria Vallin
Camera support & Colour by
Victor Cubo
This work is supported by Art Jameel and Dubai Culture through the Research and Practice Platform
Dear Mama
June 2022Reflections on migration and yearning unfold through found letters, photographs and home footage. This video collage intertwines my memories with my mother’s migration experience, offering a meditation on time, endurance, and the longing for reunion.
Music by jean néant/ joni void
‘Audrey’
Featured in Sharjah Biennial 16, April Acts ‘to carry’ as part of Sa Tahanan Co.’s performance programme on April 2025
Portraits
June 2022A Super 8 film created with the simple desire to shine a light on art and the humans who make them. What started as an exercise in capturing video on film, became an exploration of portraiture through tender gestures and sound.
Special thanks to Victor Cubo and Jared Maxilom for the endless conversations
Chosen Family
December 2023In the summer of 2025, I talked to my friend, Sara about moments she felt heard and seen, opening the floodgates for this work. With everything happening in the world, I’m convinced of collective care's power. Zooming out, when disaster strikes (figuratively, and literally) it’s not your followers, online connections or your employer that you can always count on. It’s your neighbours, community, and chosen family. Remember to hold them close.
Credits
Featuring Sara Asfaha
Thank you for taking a walk with me 💐
Music by Mimmu Bangoura
‘Living in my Dreams’
Exercises on looking
Two-channel Video ProjectionDecember 2022
In my final project as an artist fellow at the Salama bint Hamdan Emerging Artist Fellowship (SEAF), I created an experimental film that reflects memory’s fragmented nature. Exhibited as a sculptural installation, it draws heavily from collage techniques using personal super 8 footage to depict how we alter moments from the past each time we revisit them.
By weaving textures of everyday life–what I hope to offer is an affirmation of memory’s healing potential. What we decide to lose and keep over time, and what they can teach us about being alive now.
Featured in ‘Community and Critique’ MiZa Abu Dhabi in 2022