Laila Tara H

Laila Tara H (b.1995) is an Iranian-British artist whose small-scale paintings on paper draw on the tradition of Indo-Persian miniature painting. Her Iranian heritage, and years spent moving through continents, has informed the language through which she articulates her own history of living in different cultural settings. Symbolic forms and multiple, concurrent narratives punctuate the space. Detailed figures, faces painted in profile, disjointed limbs, delicate foliage, birds, reptiles, and golden suns are all arranged in stark, startling compositions, creating a deeply personal narrative. Paper is cut and folded, puncturing, and destabilising space to introduce three-dimensional depth and shadow play. She uses pigments that are either naturally derived including deep blue lapis lazuli, walnut ink, clay earth ochre or from found materials such as crushed red London bricks.

Solo and duo shows include ‘Hastan/’هستن (with Narges Mohammadi), Copperfield, London (2023); ‘Twisted toes, tangled ears’ (with Anousha Payne), Public Gallery, London (2022); ‘duck duck goose’, Purdy Hicks, London (2022); ‘Vexilloid’, O Gallery, Tehran (2021); ‘Sky-Circles’ (with Anusheh Zia Siddiqui), Indigo+Madder, London (2021); ‘Am I?’, V.O Curations, London (2021).

Her works have been featured in group shows at India Art Fair, Indigo+Madder, Delhi (2024); Alberto Di Castro, Rome (2024); Sarabande Foundation, London (2023); Guts Gallery, London (2023); Cooke Latham Gallery, London (2023); Super Super Markt, Berlin (2023); Albert Contemporary, Odense, Denmark (2023); Arusha Gallery, New York (2023); Fabian Lang, Zurich (2023); Confer-Karnac, London (2022); Cob Gallery, New York (2022); Purdy Hicks Gallery, Paris (2022); V.O Curations, London (2022); Indigo+Madder, London (2021); Arusha Gallery, London (2021); Numeroventi, Florence (2020); 155A Gallery, London; Mall Galleries, London (2019).

Residencies include Blank100 Residency (2023); Sarabande: Alexander McQueen Foundation (2022-2023); Casa Balandra (2020); Numeroventi (2020). She has collaborated with brands such as Home of Hai (2023); Mural at The Twenty Two (2022); Drake's, London (2022); Papier (2021).