ANOTHER LIFE

The Austrian Cultural Forum is pleased to present "ANOTHER LIFE - EIN ANDERES LEBEN" by Sri Lanka-born Austrian artist Raki Nikahetiya.

How do we define connection when we leave home?

Nikahetiya presents eleven narrative embroidery portraits and one large-scale applique work, exploring migration, integration, and identity in relation to cultural belonging. Extending from his earlier work on South Asian ancestral heritage, Another Life depicts the artist’s Austrian “chosen family”: individuals who introduced him to a new language, offered a home, and fostered a sense of belonging during his integration into Austrian life.

Nikahetiya begins with archival photographs, translated into digital format and then hand-embroidered onto Tuch, a fabric historically used in Austrian garment production. The works are realised in collaboration with a community of Indian embroidery artisans in Kolkata, employing Aari, Appliqué, and Zardozi techniques. Each portrait becomes a woven narrative of reinvention, connecting two continents and multiple modes of being and belonging.

Through meticulous craft and layered storytelling, Another Life transforms intimate personal histories into enduring material forms, reflecting the intersections of memory, migration, and cross-cultural identity.

In collaboration with Reyas Ali, Kolkata, India.

BLACK BOX II

Silk hand-embroidery, appliquéd on dyed Jute fabric

250 x 250cm

Photo courtesy: Manish Singh