BLACK BOX II

Silk hand-embroidery, appliquéd on dyed Jute fabric

250 x 250cm

The Austrian Cultural Forum is pleased to present "ANOTHER LIFE - EIN ANDERES LEBEN" by Sri Lanka-born Austrian artist Raki Nikahetiya.

Raki Nikahetiya presents in this exhibition eleven narrative embroidery portraits and one large-scale applique work, exploring the ideas of migration, integration, and identity in relation to cultural belonging. Extending from his earlier work that explored Raki's South Asian ancestral heritage, “Another Life” depicts the artist’s Austrian “chosen family”. The works encompass portraits of individuals who taught him a new language, provided a new home and a sense of newfound kinship during his upbringing and integration into Austrian life.

Nikahetiya uses old photographs as a starting point for his work, which translates to the digital format and then hand-embroidered onto cloth or “Tuch”, a material traditionally used in Austrian garment production, by the community of Indian embroidery craftsmen based in Kolkata specialising in Aari, Appliqué and Zardozi techniques. Each image is a woven narrative of existence starting anew, connecting two continents and multiple ways of being and belonging.

Photo courtesy: Manish Singh