Nazek Hamdi’s The Lotus Girl expresses the enthusiasm of a student who has moved to a new country and become enamoured by its culture. The work was produced in 1955, the same year the Egyptian artist moved to India on an art scholarship.
The painting features a woman in a vibrant sari and floral hairband, the stem of a lotus flower delicately pinched in between her fingers. The wallpaper behind the woman takes obvious cues from the flower, with motifs of tapering petals juxtaposed by the patterns found in batik, a centuries-old wax-resist dyeing technique.
The Lotus Girl, also known as The Lotus Flower, is one of the highlights of a new exhibition at Jehangir Nicholson Art Foundation in Mumbai. Resonant Histories: India and the Arab World is taking place until February 15 and has been organised with Sharjah's Barjeel Art Foundation.
Hamdi’s painting is an example where Indian influences are outwardly evident. The artist studied in India for several years, learning a variety of art forms – from miniature painting to the art of batik – and though she returned
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