The Incomplete Thombu

What does home mean to you? This is what artist Thamotharampillai Sanathanan attempts to capture in ‘The Incomplete Thombu’. The project is a collection of memories of Tamil and Muslim civilians displaced from the country’s northern province,giving new meaning to the phrase ‘Home is where the heart lies’. The displaced families were first asked to retrace the floor plans of their houses, and in doing so they shared fond memories of their childhood, illustrating them through drawings of loved ones, objects and incidents, plants, pets –even smells – associated with the memories of their homes.
Their sketches were then transformed into architectural drawings of a tangible expression of home. These documents express a historical tales that aren’t often spoken about, but connect individual memories to our shared history.