ABOUT THE ARTIST
Zahura Sultana is a London-based artist whose practice explores the profound bond between mother and child, and the emotional landscapes shaped by memory, love, and loss.
Working in a semi-abstract style, Zahura creates a space of ambiguity that allows her to express layered feelings and inner conflict. Her bold brushstrokes and physical engagement with the canvas reflect both the intensity of her process and the complexity of motherhood: a dynamic interplay of tenderness, frustration, joy, and pain.
Zahura Sultana
Born in Bangladesh, Zahura began her artistic journey later in life after moving to the UK. She holds an MA in Fine Art from Wimbledon College of Arts, University of the Arts London (2013) and a Foundation in Art Psychotherapy from the University of Roehampton (2016). Her work has been exhibited in galleries across the UK, Bangladesh, and the UAE, and is held in the permanent collection at the University College of Art, Farnham, where she earned her BA (Hons) in 2000.
Zahura Sultana’s paintings delve deeply into the maternal experience, where past and present memories overlap like layers of a palimpsest. Her work explores the nurturing and protective aspects of motherhood, as well as the rupture and emotional aftermath that can occur when this bond is disrupted. The act of painting becomes both a dialogue and a form of healing. It is a safe space to revisit, endure, and process feelings of vulnerability and loss.
Motifs of flowers often recur in her work, symbolising love, fulfilment, and the fragile need to care for the vulnerable. They function as transitional objects, sources of comfort and continuity that help bridge emotional distance and separation. Through them, Zahura Sultana channels her own need to nurture, creating work that feels both personal and universal.
In essence, Zahura Sultana’s work weaves a rich tapestry of motherhood, conveying its beauty, complexity, and contradictions. Her paintings invite viewers to reflect on their own emotional histories and to recognise something of themselves within her work.