Rihana Mangi brings into focus the overlooked beauty of shed hair by incorporating these delicate threads into her work, which offers a modern take on the tradition of miniature painting that flourished in Mughal India (1526­–1857). Based on the elementary sewing exercises she learned as a child, her creative practice first began as a form of therapeutic reflection on her personal history. Mangi started to make patterns by sewing hair through holes punched in a geometric grid drawn on wasli—a handmade paper used for miniature painting which consists of several layers of paper glued together then polished until smooth. Mangi uses hair from herself and her intimate acquaintances as thread to make meticulous cross-stitches in each square of a grid she has drawn over her finely rendered miniature paintings. The rigorous patterns she creates through this painstaking sewing regiment rival the precision and delicacy that are the hallmarks of miniature painting. Her other set of work drawn from the same practice are reminiscent of sewing samplers. Using single strands or clusters of hair of different shades, Mangi embroiders simple, floral motifs and butterflies that are animated by thousands of methodical stitches.

Born in Larkana, Pakistan, in 1986, Mangi received her BFA in miniature painting from the National College of Arts, Lahore, and an MA in Art And Design from the Beacon House National University, Lahore. Solo exhibitions of her work have been organized by the Canvas Gallery, Karachi; Chukandi Art Gallery, Karachi; Green Cardamom, London; Alexis Renard Gallery, Paris; and other venues. She has also participated in group exhibitions held at the Frere Hall, Karachi; MEWO Kunsthalle, Memmingen; Aicon Gallery, New York; Pacific Asia Museum, California; National College of Arts, Lahore; and Centro Cultural Borges Gallery, Buenos Aires; among other venues. Mangi works and lives in Lahore.

TL