Religion has long been regarded by anthropologists and other social scientists as a key source of identity formation and sustenance.* As a major socio-cultural institution, it plays a significant role in the diaspora by enabling transnational communities to reconstruct an intrinsic space in exile. This project probes the significance of Hindu temples in constructing collective (cultural) homes in the diaspora and the process through which they structurally moderate re-imagination and reconstruction of social identities. In one's homeland, other social, cultural, and economic structures exist within which such identities are created. However, in the diaspora, the importance of religion is heightened, as it forms a physical and non-physical basis around which to craft identity. Temples are built through collective effort and the symbolic performances of worship and ritual occur in these communal enclosures. Thus, the construction of a temple becomes the construction of a community, which then leads to construction of individual and collective identities.

Hinduism incorporates abundant visual expressions and representations. The temple, a prominent place for social networking and community structuring, possesses many such vivid symbolic elements. To explore the reconstruction and reconceptualization of identities through these visual elements of Hinduism, my fieldwork for this project focused on two temples, Walthamstow Shree Karpaga Venayagar Temple in London and Shri Bhalaji Temple in Birmingham, UK. Structured and un-structured interviews were conducted with the temple priests, temple administrative board members, devotees, and temple volunteers, as well as free-lance writers, journalists, media personnel and Tamil youth in London. While placing major emphasis on the utilization of photography as a research tool, this project considers the ways in which the Tamil diaspora manifests its collective identity through the establishment and exhibition of temples. Visual illustrations extend from architecture (both exterior and interior), to ritual performances and social interactions. In addition, this project further explores the process through which 'finding a home in exile' has been mediated and moderated through dynamic visual forms.