Explore this unique art exhibition by an artist who treats the canvas like her personal diary

Fatema Halvadwala (right) presents her works to viewers at the Colaba gallery; (right) The Sun’s Story. pics courtesy/@strangershousegallery, fatema halvadwala

An entire balcony wall in Bhendi Bazar became Fatema Halvadwala's early canvas. As a child, she painted freely, with her mother providing her the space and resources. There were no formal lessons, only the instinct to pick a brush and make sense of what she saw. "I have painted all my life, as far as I can remember," she says.

In 2022 the artist formally studied painting, earning a Master of Fine Arts from the New York Academy of Art this year. But the language she found much earlier remains unchanged. "The only way I can process and express my experiences is through paintings," she says.

Her canvases function like a visual diary, carrying memories, experiences, anxieties about the future and moments of joy. Ideas can arrive at the most unexpected moments, prompting her to reach for the notebook she always carries. "I would be doing the most random activity, and suddenly, a visual of painting comes to me," she says. She scribbles the image down, noting the colour, rhythm and composition that matches the imagination.

Happy Little ET

That process comes together in Recipes of the Self, her solo exhibition at Stranger's House Gallery. Food, which featured as a metaphor for love, communion and togetherness in her earlier works, takes on a more complex meaning in the new series. As a Dawoodi Bohra artist living away from home in Bhendi Bazar, she uses food to reflect on faith, community and belonging. Her vibrant, figurative works bring together the traditions and stories that unfold around the plate and table, while drawing from her own experience of being away from home.

Fatema Halvadwala

At the heart of it, Halvadwala wants her work to offer a sense of refuge. "I hope the audience finds refuge in my work," she says. While the experiences are personal, she believes they can also feel universal, allowing viewers to find their own meaning and comfort in them.

TILL October 7; 5.30 pm to 9.30 pm
AT Stranger's House Gallery, Nathalal Parekh Marg, Colaba.