Saima Kaur is a self-taught Yorkshire based textile artist. Her work is informed and inspired by Indian folk embroideries, in particular the figurative Phulkaris from Punjab. She uses a limited set of hand embroidery stitches to build bold, illustrative artworks that suggest larger narratives and otherworldly stories. Kaur creates original artworks for interiors alongside works that explore heritage, memory, grief and longing.
The Red Works – Both of these artworks, exhibited as part of Tangled Up, explore the experience of having a child with severe autism.
My Gift to Come
“I used motifs and techniques from Punjabi Phulkaris and folklore to express my joy of impending motherhood. The heaven’s sang, the fairies prepared, and I dreamt of things to come.”
Things People Said
“This expresses the reality and intensity of the grief that transpired. The realisation of her final prognosis was a slow, painful unfolding. My baby grew to be non-verbal with severe learning difficulties and unable to care for herself. The grief captured in the artwork was appropriate for the time. The grief passed and was replaced by a deep love and an acceptance of what would never be.”
I Threw it in the River on Christmas Day, 2023
“He ended the marriage, but the ring remained.
In India, people put the ashes of deceased loved ones in the river with a prayer. I did the same with the wedding ring; a prayer, a thank you and a goodbye. It was something and nothing and everything all at once.”
