The ones that came before me-Sameer Qureshi
The Ones That Came Before Me is a visual documentation of my family’s migration from Sylhet, Bangladesh, to Tower Hamlets, East London, in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
About
Using Faber Castell Polychromos coloured pencils, I carefully recreate photographs from our family albums by hand, transforming snapshots into detailed drawings that preserve moments from both my family’s history and the wider story of the Bengali community in East London.
My fascination with this project began long before I started drawing. Every few years, I would find myself returning to the family photo albums that my mum kept carefully stored away. Spread across more than a dozen albums, the photographs are often mixed together with no particular order, yet each image feels like a small window into another time. I was drawn to the colours, the lighting of disposable cameras, the shadows, the fashion, and the atmosphere captured within each frame. Whether it was traditional South Asian clothing or Western styles, family weddings or a simple meal shared together, the photographs seemed full of character, warmth, and life.
Presented in chronological order, the work invites viewers to move through my family’s journey as if turning the pages of a photo album. Alongside portraits, the drawings capture family gatherings, celebrations, and everyday moments that may seem ordinary at first glance but become increasingly meaningful over time. I am particularly interested in the details contained within these photographs: the fashion my family wore, the food that appears on tables and in the background, the interiors of homes, and the ways people chose to present themselves in front of the camera. These details offer small but significant insights into a particular time, place, and culture.
While the project is rooted in my own family’s experiences, it also reflects wider themes of migration, community, and belonging. Drawing from these photographs allows me to spend time with histories that existed before me and reconnect with stories passed down through generations. Through this process, I hope to preserve elements of my Bengali heritage, celebrate the lives of my relatives, and pay homage to the people whose journeys and sacrifices have shaped my own identity.
More than anything, I want to share the sense of joy and curiosity I feel when looking through these albums. In a world where images are constantly consumed and quickly forgotten, these drawings encourage viewers to pause, reflect, and spend time with moments that might otherwise be overlooked. Ultimately, The Ones That Came Before Me is both a personal archive and a tribute to family, memory, and culture.’
