Read Me emerges from my experience as an ESL instructor/Activities Lead at Hansa language centre, where my students (adults, professionals, and students alike) are all newcomers, whether temporary or permanent. I witness daily how language gaps shape what can and cannot be expressed. When words fail or slip, communication shifts elsewhere. I invited them to show me something they want remembered about them - that holds who they are. In response, they offered their hands.

​

Each image captures what they choose to carry: small, personal objects that hold memory, attachment, and value - traces of a life left behind and still present. In moments where verbal language breaks down, these visual gestures become a way to hold onto meaning and to express emotion (love, care, longing) without needing translation. Over two months, this series became a record of how, in the absence of shared language, people lean into the visual to remain seen and understood.