Migration is as old as humanity – a quest embedded in our cultural DNA. Contrary to dramatic portrayals, most migration occurs quietly and safely, often closer to home, as individuals seek employment, education or better opportunities for their families. This is a deliberate step in the direction of hope, not the chaos it is often portrayed as.
In his first solo exhibition, Migrant Memory, at Artifact Art Gallery, Hyderabad, Austrian-Sri Lankan artist Rakhi Nikahetiya explores the disaffection and resilience that fuel migration. Presented in collaboration with the Austrian Cultural Forum, the exhibition uncovers a deeply personal story of displacement, integration, and the fragmented pieces of identity gathered along the way.
Nikhetia’s interdisciplinary works—a fusion of textile, embroidery, and marble inlay—are visually striking. His art evokes memories and the indescribable pain of belonging to two worlds but feeling irreplaceable in both. He posed the poignant question: “If you had to leave your country at this moment, what would you take with you?”
Nikahetiya’s art is deeply influenced by his family’s flight from Sri Lanka during the civil wars of the late 20th century. is one of his most evocative pieces Brace! Brace! series, where the image of an airplane security card becomes a haunting metaphor for migration. “I remember sitting on the plane, looking at the security card and feeling it,” he recalls. “It was unnerving and comforting—a bridge between the life I knew and the stranger that awaited.”
In his series another lifeEveryday objects become vessels of memory, subtly connecting the past with the present. Collaborating with Kolkata-based artisan Rayas Ali, Nikhetia reimagines ancestral images and mementos as intricate pieces of embroidery and pietra dura. These works narrate her story, eliciting universal themes of resilience, longing, and the paradoxical comfort found in the unknown.
Reflecting on his process, Nikhetia says, “I have collected old family photos – memories from before I migrated to Europe. For each person I portray, I try to remember the stories that are deeply connected to them. Each represents a time, a place, a symbol. Emotions May be biased, naïve or distorted, but they shaped my trajectory.”
Nikahetiya challenges us to understand migration not only as a physical process but also as a chemical transformation. Displacement dissolves identity but reconstructs it in unexpected ways. His works sparkle with this tension: the pull of the homeland against the push of a new future, the urge to create anew against the weight of inherited narratives. As he shared, “It felt like all we needed was the human desire for it all, the strength to let it go, and the courage to carry pieces of our past into the unknown. I think my art reminds me, like migration itself, that memory is both an anchor and a sail.” .”
The exhibition opened with a reading by The Little Theater Hyderabad, highlighting the themes of migration and memory. The event was inaugurated by Her Excellency Katharina Wieser, Ambassador of Austria to India.
The Migrant Memory artwork is on display at the Art Gallery, Banjara Hills till January 5, 2025.