This week You! talks to UK-based visual artist, Humna Mustafa, who loves to do ceramic decoration with henna...
ceramics
This week You! talks to UK-based visual artist, Humna Mustafa, who loves to do ceramic decoration with henna...
They say art knows no boundaries. An artist can experiment and explore concepts to infinity, and that makes his craft limitless for everyone. One can interpret anything by just looking at what tools and mediums are used to convey a thought. The same case is with artist Humna Mustafa, who loves to do ceramic decoration through henna.
Armed with a Textile Designer degree, Humna Mustafa has been working as an experimental artist for over ten years. Currently residing and working in the UK, she moves between working as a visual and body artist with henna as her medium and ceramic decoration. In this diverse experimentation, henna patterns have become her signature style. “As a child, my father would tell me that ‘the only reason a man earns, is to put food on the table for his loved ones’. He believed we could do without everything but food. It is what brings and keeps a family together; a way of sharing our blessings with loved ones,” shares Humna. This has been the inspiration behind Humna’s ‘Meraki Ceramics Collection’ - intricately designed ceramic tableware by the artist.
The collection includes bowls, plates and platters, in varying sizes, highlights a taste and appetite for ceramics and tableware. The pieces in the collection are creatively decorated by patterns inspired from the Art and Crafts movement, Islamic patterns and the Aboriginal designs. The colour palette is a rich mix of vibrant tones and pastels offering something for everyone’s mood and taste. For Humna, however, the collection is a result of her personal interactions with people which find expression in her Art practice. “Each piece captures an essence, with abstract references to moments that inspired me. My experiences with people find their way into the work. Their stories are my inspiration, their feelings changed to colour.”
Her interest in henna dates back to her thesis produced as the culmination of her undergraduate degree in Textile Design from Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture. An exploration that began through her academic phase has now found a firm place in her practice. “The intricate traditional patterns and the different cultural meanings behind the art form have long fascinated me. I am intrigued by the interplay of its symbols and its effect for both beatification and its healing capabilities,” says Humna. She tries to understand and unveil the healing properties of henna as she creates art forms on ceramics, walls and the human body. Even though henna has been part of our culture and tradition, there isn’t much awareness of its healing properties. Humna finds that the recent interest in alternative medical practices and treatments enhances the public interest in her work.
Given the strong cultural association with henna, did she not find it difficult to use it as her medium in the UK? Certainly not; as recently, she was commissioned to work on a marketing campaign for O2 (telecom operator) in UK, creating art works using two ancient art forms of rangoli and henna. “Seeing my work on the iconic London red buses was an amazing boost for my work profile abroad.” This has led to more freelance branding and designing works for Humna. She has also been invited to schools for residencies and workshops to teach about the origins of henna, its patterns and philosophies.
Her love for this medium also led her to curate an exhibition called ‘Elements’ that brought together local artists to explore henna in their mediums, including a time-lapse movie series on the transience of henna.
“The patterns and symbols are my alphabets, and for the first time, I have started expressing them through my ceramics with the ‘Meraki Collection’.
Each piece reflects a memory, a moment shared with one of the hundreds of people on whom I have applied henna. These are like a window to their stories, capturing our interaction in time.”
The collection honours the hard work and effort people make to put food on their family’s table, and is a reminder to be grateful to The Creator for all that there is.
