A visual tribute to folk roots & old homes

Lucknow’s art and cultural circles gathered at an art Gallery in Aliganj for the opening of Mitti Se Mehrab, a solo art exhibition by self-taught artist and homemaker Farzana Sahab. The showcase opened with Padma Shri Malini Awasthi lighting the ceremonial lamp during the inauguration. The evening saw the presence of several noted names from the city’s art and creative fraternity, including Prof Jaikrishna Agarwal, former Dean, College of Arts, and Prof Rakesh Chandra, former Dean of Students Welfare and Dean of Academics, University of Lucknow. Writer and cultural curator Yatindra Mishra, along with Noor Khan and other guests, explored the display and interacted with the artist about her vision of turning childhood memories of into visual narratives. The exhibition featured around 55 paintings and mixed media works centred around memory, identity and heritage, drawing inspiration from mud homes, traditional wall art and architectural elements from Bundelkhand and Awadh. Speaking about the theme of her exhibition, Farzana, shared, “The artworks take inspiration from memories of my maternal home in Bundelkhand and the traditional folk art I grew up around. Alongside this, I also created pieces inspired by Lucknow’s tukdi work and chhatrapati motifs, which received a lot of appreciation from visitors at the exhibition.”— Amina Ashraf