Artist Safwat Saleem

5 x 7 blank journal
featuring a cover from The Self-Help Library

The Self-Help Library

Series of 52, custom-made hardbound books, 2021 - 2024

The Self-Help Library is a collection of 52, oddly specific self-help books that I wish had existed to guide me through life. Using book covers as the canvas, the collection reveals a narrative of preservation, cultural loss, family history, resistance and the desire to belong. Joy, parenthood and humor are also integral themes that I use as a tool to challenge perceptions and bring attention to South Asian, Muslim and immigrant experiences that are often lost in an attempt to belong.