Sehra.

A Sehra is a forehead garland worn by the bridegroom (or even bride in some cases) during a South Asian wedding. The decorative grooms veil can be made either out of flowers or beads and is still used today for nuptial ceremonies.

Sehra is an commissioned interactive sculpture produced by Haseebah, as part of Moseley Rd Baths Exchange Festival. The festival, based at Moseley Community Hub, spanned over two day from the 4th till the 5th November 2023, and aimed to champion many local and regional artists and practitioners..

The hand painted sculpture is inspired by the weddings that used to take place at Moseley Community Hub in Balsall Heath during the 90’s and 00’s. During her childhood, Haseebah used to attend many weddings at the venue as it was used frequently by the community as a space for celebration. The South Asian community used the bottom floor of the building often for this purpose as well as the Arab and Somali community in Balsall Heath however not frequently.

The art piece was hand painted and took an overall of 70 hours to make. The wooden panel was designed and created with the help of PathCarvers based in The Old PrintWorks. In terms of imagery, the sculpture is inspired by the golden and floral motifs you might see on a groom wearing a Sehra.

There was also a framed collection of images from Haseebah’s family archive displaying various family members during the 90’s and 00’s era at Moseley Community hub for a wedding.

During the first day of the festival, Haseebah facilitated a paper flower making workshop, where participants created different flowers to be added to garlands, and attached to the sculpture mimicking the look of a Sehra.

The project overall was a culmination of storytelling and remembrance into the years of celebration the halls of the venue have felt over the years.