Farzana Ahmed; [Author]

Art

Art (ART)

Decorative

Art

This is a portrait of Salema, a Rohingya embroidery artisan for the RCMC. It was painted by Farzana Ahmed Urmi, a Bangladeshi artist-in-residence for the RCMC.

Salema is known as the mashtor (teacher) for teaching other women how to draw. The eldest of twelve siblings, Salema used to make fishing nets, weave baskets, sew tikka (skullcap), and toshok (mattress) which she sold in Arakan. In the camp Salema finds it therapeutic to do fultola (embroidery) with other women for the RCMC embroidery group. She learnt to draw animals and humans and her favourite project was “Missing persons” because it helped her draw her family from memory.