From streets of Hyderabad to New York: Afza Tamkanat

When Hyderabad-based artist Afza Tamkanat was in second standard, she decided that she wanted to be like her father. “I was seeing art at my home since my childhood. It became a part of my life. The inspiration I gained at home drives me to work on my passion,” says Afza.

Afza’s work is inspired from Hyderabad streets and there is a vintage touch to her art. On the body of work that she will be showing at New York, she shares, “One can see my love for vintage cars in my work. These vintage cars connect me to Hyderabad because after marriage, I shifted to Sydney, but the difference is here (in Sydney) these cars are on road, whereas in Hyderabad not all vintage cars are on road.”

Yet another feature of her work is that one will not miss sparrows twittering on her canvas. “Yes, sparrows are there in my paintings. They are very close to me, I still remembered, my nani (grandmother) used to feed me in our angan (courtyard) and I used to watch these sparrows.”

As an artist who is influenced by her surroundings, one sees glimpses of the Australian city too in her current body of work, “I didn’t miss Sydney in my work, I painted white windows of this place, which I found is a unique thing till now. I am still discovering the city,” relates Afza.

“I worked on my canvases with a lot of coffee and watercolour and some mix media. I take a deep look at common objects, and my surroundings and I always try to put such themes into my artworks,” says the artist who is excited about her upcoming show and is waiting to see the response.”