From Land to Hand: Henna and the Art of Belonging (Free Exhibition)

From Land to Hand: Henna and the Art of Belonging is a free art exhibition taking place at the University of Exeter this summer.

The exhibition will take place at the Multifaith Centre which is located on the Streatham Campus. Exhibition opening times are 8am – 8pm, in alignment with the Multifaith Centre’s public opening hours. The exhibition will take place on Friday July 24th, Saturday July 26th and Sunday July 27th.

This exhibition will present artworks created by postgraduate student Ambrin Howell. Ambrin is a woman of dual heritage and is a British member of the Pakistani diaspora. She is currently facilitating the ‘From Land to Hand’ project where she is undertaking a student-led artist residency to explore and creatively engage with the symbolic potential of plants in their capacity to act as metaphors for place and belonging. The exhibition will celebrate use of the henna plant as part of the rich tradition of henna tattooing alongside plants that are local to Exeter. The University of Exeter Streatham Campus is a site of botanical excellence. As such artworks featured in this exhibition will take inspiration from the vast floral offerings of the University environment to inform new ways of exploring the visual and floral language of henna.

The exhibition will also feature artworks produced by student groups who took part in the ‘From Land to Hand’ creative workshop series. Students were invitited to participate in a series of experimental art and craft workshops in order to explore and creatively mediate individual and collective relationships with plants, henna, belonging, ideas of place and rooting. Outputs on display will include metalwork henna tattoo stencils, experimental handmade paper crafted using parts of the henna plant, experimental flower pressings that combine plants from campus with parts of the henna plant and a display of our collaborative henna art workshop canvases.