Rehana Mangi’s artistic practice is based fundamentally on a few components, namely the strands of hair she uses to create the weave-like patterns in her work.
An art exhibition of her latest works was recently organised by and at the Chawkandi Art gallery.
On a personal front, Mangi says, her work is a huge result of the heritage of her childhood, personal experiences and obstacles that she faced as an early artist and as a student.
“I first started making grids on Wasli (handmade paper) as a mere distraction from what I was undergoing at the time. This soon became a fixation and therapy for me,” she says.
She then began creating and sketching patterns on the grids by punching holes in the grids by a handmade tool.
She says she began weaving strands of hair into the grid as she had learnt to weave as a child, and it was a skill taught to all children native to her village.
“I kept persistently creating more of my work and, to my surprise, what at the time was an escape for me from my reality, soon became widely appreciated by my teachers and friends,” she adds.
Mangi says the thought of using her hair as a tool to express herself publically had never crossed her mind.
However, she adds, it takes her closer to a message she would want to share or a feeling she would want to express.
She says her work in totality is a depiction of the truth within her.
“It is resilient and contemporary, and the paths and hardships endured by me in the course of life have all been moulded and refined to manifest the intricacy of my work,” she adds.
PHOTOS COURTESY CHAWKANDI ART
