Searching for Sivagami

Leporello in printed and foiled hard covers
88 pages
69 photographs
15,5 x 21 cm
Offset printed on both sides of the leporello
700 copies
ISBN 978-91-987607-5-0
Designed by Hannah Modigh and Janne Riikonen
November 2024

When Hannah Modigh was three years old, her family moved to India for about four years. While her parents were working, a woman named Sivagami took care of her and her sisters. For a time, Sivagami became part of their family, but without a right to demand anything. She was dependent on the Modighs, just as they were on her. When the Modigh family moved back to Sweden, Sivagami cried. As a child, Hannah thought her tears were because they were leaving, but perhaps they reflected her own uncertain future.

In her work Searching for Sivagami, Hannah Modigh returns to India, trying to find Sivagami after 30 years. This emotional and physical journey led Hannah to trace streets and places through memories and sensory experiences. She sought out women who resemble Sivagami, not so much in appearance but in their struggles, sharing similar backgrounds and lives. Hannah visited places she might have been or passed through, including the area where she used to live and the beaches they visited together. By photographing other women to represent Sivagami and herself, Modigh reflects on the loss she felt and searches for traces of a relationship.