Noorain Inam

Lives and works in London, UK

Artist statement

My practice begins with storytelling, navigating the shifting territories of memory, mythology, and the natural landscape to explore how personal history intertwines with ancient narratives. Originally trained in the rigorous tradition of Indo Persian miniature painting, my early work engaged deeply with the visual language of the Pahari school. From the Himalayan foothills, the Pahari tradition’s lyrical treatment of nature and emotional intensity remains a foundational influence on how I construct narrative, colour, and space. In recent years, my practice has expanded into the tactile realm of wood carving, an evolution directly tied to my physical environment. While hiking through the foothills of my home, I gather fallen wood that carries the memory of the soil, weather, and time. Carving into this locally sourced material, I merge the precision of my miniature background with a physical engagement with organic media. The wood functions not merely as a canvas, but as a living repository of place. Now based in London, I explore how identity and belonging are continually reconstructed through the places we inhabit, the stories we inherit, and the memories we carry between them. Animals, bodies, houses, water, fire, and incongruous objects recur through an intuitive process, developing their own internal logic. A work may begin with something intensely personal, yet through the slow process of making, it becomes unfamiliar even to me. These environments sit between...

Artwork