A SOLO EXHIBITION BY NIDHI MARIAM JACOB
24 JULY - 22 AUGUST
24 JULY - 22 AUGUST
KYNKYNY Art Gallery presents “Shape of My Heart”, a solo exhibition featuring Nidhi Mariam Jacob. Shape of My Heart is a collection of paintings that emerged from the artist's journey through grief, remembrance, and transformation following the passing of her mother, Helen Elizabeth Jacob.
As a child, Nidhi was convinced that her mother possessed a kind of magic when it came to soil and plants. Whether working from seed, cutting, or intuition, Helen seemed to understand the language of flowers and foliage in a way that felt both mysterious and profound. Watching her nurture life from the earth inspired a lasting sense of wonder, and Nidhi often imagined her mother as a nature goddess whose muddy hands carried a quiet power of creation and care.
Download catalogue
The fantasy gardens that populate this body of work are rooted in those memories. Rather than depicting existing landscapes, the paintings construct emotional and imaginative spaces where memory, longing, and wonder converge. Each work pays tribute to the knowledge Helen shared about the natural world, plants as medicine, as healers and to the sense of freedom and curiosity with which she moved through it.
Through her mother's example, Nidhi learned that nature is never fixed; it is resilient, adaptive, and in a constant state of transformation. This understanding informs the visual language of the paintings. Flowers extend beyond their botanical forms, colours move beyond direct observation, and compositions depart from realism. The gardens unfold through imagination and intuition, becoming symbols, dreams, and vessels of memory shaped as much by emotion as by nature itself.
While deeply personal, Shape of My Heart is not solely an act of remembrance. It is also a celebration of growth, possibility, and the enduring influence of a woman who taught her daughter to find beauty in small beginnings and freedom in creation. Through these imagined gardens, Nidhi continues an intimate conversation across time, honouring a relationship that continues to shape her understanding of the world.
Dedicated to Helen Elizabeth Jacob, this body of work stands as a testament to the profound ways in which love, memory, and loss can transform the shape of a heart.
