Rising Stars: Meet Homayra Adiba

Today we’d like to introduce you to Homayra Adiba. 

Hi Homayra, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I would like to think of myself as a storyteller. I work with mixed media, sculpture, found objects, text, and photography but with whatever media I use, I am always telling a story. 

When I was little, one of my aunts gathered all the cousins in the living room. She gave us each a sheet of paper and asked us to write down what we wanted to be when we are older. I vividly remember that she read my paper loudly in front of the audience! Not because I wanted to be an astronaut but because I wrote: “If lord (Allah) wishes!” 

Soon enough, I understood that my chances of becoming an astronaut being born in Dhaka, Bangladesh were slim. If you are from Dhaka, being a doctor or an engineer is the only option you get from your family. Anything else would turn you into a black sheep. I was the black sheep. I couldn’t set my mind for either of those. I was writing poems since I was eight, I fought with my family to go to an art school, I think even though my parents wanted a more ‘stable’ profession for me, it’s their blood that made me an artist. My father was a medalist footballer and my mother was a medalist badminton player. Although they both had to leave their dreams behind after I was born, I think I carried their legacy. My late maternal uncle was a drama actor, a musician, and a poet. I spent a good chunk of my childhood and he deserves more credit for the sensibility and humanity in me than I could ever give him. 

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
I am a female born in Dhaka, Bangladesh. That alone is an obstacle enough. yes, I have had many obstacles, but when I opened my heart to the greater world, I understood the obstacles Jim Morrison had, Lalon had, Virginia Wolf had. Every living being is going through obstacles and although I would talk about them, I shall talk about them through my work. 

My recent work is a series of three sculptures, where I deal with the intense emotional turmoil and identity crisis I have suffered and still is processing, encountering my migration to the USA. There are no easy words to put them all together. However, from this experience, I have understood the sufferings of so many people all around the world which I haven’t had a hint about before. 

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
My inspiration for my work is deeply rooted in the idea of ‘Home’. Through my work I try to understand, process, define, redefine, question, deconstruct, reconstruct the philosophy, ideology, definitions of what it means to be at ‘Home’. I am an instinctual artist; I work on the matters that matter to me. If we are a conscious part of society, a lot of things should matter to us. 

I dwell on the past a lot, which is why my work often looks at things that are lost or ‘almost lost’. They say dwelling on the past isn’t good, so in a way, it’s a bad habit I have. But that’s where I get my ‘thoughts’ from to make another art. 

I jump mediums a lot. From writing to photography to comics to alternative prints to papermaking to bookmaking to sculptures, I have always found myself trying new things and adapting new mediums for my storytelling. It’s scary because it takes a long time to develop a style, style is important (somewhat) because that’s how people recognize you. And let’s be honest, we all love to be loved. I was warned by many not to try so many things, I won’t be an expert in any. But I think my hunger for learning new art forms and being able to use them in my work is what makes me content. I am the happiest when I am learning and making and I am proud that I did take the risks of trying new things. 

I will be showcasing in RawDetroit in April. Everyone can purchase a ticket through this link: https://rawartists.com/tickets/2797/checkout/136905.

We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
There aren’t many good memories of my childhood. When I travel back to my childhood, I have to be very careful of which door I open. I often go back to the one of few happy places I remember from the past, our rooftop. A lot of my good memories came from there. When I grew up, I realized rooftops are a part of the culture of the city. I started going back to rooftops, hundreds of them to take pictures and relive the memories of my childhood. From that experience, I developed ‘Where Blue Birds Fly’. It’s a photo series developed in three years (late 2013- mid-2016). https://www.homayraadiba.com/where-blue-birds-fly

Contact Info:

• Email: adiba.homayra@gmail.com
• Website: https://www.homayraadiba.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/homayraadiba/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/homayra.adiba
• Other: https://www.etsy.com/shop/HUMRIandFRIENDS