International Students Arts Showcase

LU Arts and LSU International Students' Network joined forces last November to empower and highlight the expanse of nationalities at º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ by showcasing their creative talents on social media.

International Students at º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ with talents and artforms that reflected the essence of another country, including painting, crafts, design & photography were chosen from an incredible array of submissions.

In celebration of International Students Week here at the university, LU Arts is proud to display their work below.

Nishitha Mitra - India

A black pen illustration of a peacock on a drawing sketchbook
Nishitha Mitra smiles at the camera

º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ Nishitha

I am a Postgraduate Student studying my Masters in Graphic Design and Visualization who enjoys creating intricate and detailed artworks which require patience and give me a sense of peace. Similarly, this artwork represents the essence of India with Peacock being the national bird of India and Mandala being a symbolic diagram used in the performance of sacred rites and as an instrument of meditation. This artwork gave me a similar feeling of being in a meditative state, as it required a sense of stability and steady grip as well as patience. 

Fareed Gulamhusein - Kenya

A photograph of a leopard jumping out of a tree
black and white photo of Fareed taking a photograph in some trees

º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ Fareed

Fareed is a Business Economics and Finance student. He loves wildlife and taking photos of animals and has a successful Instagram account @fareed.g_photography

Nisha Boehm - Hong Kong

A pink painted canvas of flowers, stars and ribbons
Nisha stands in her workspace surrounded by pink colourful paintings

º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ Nisha

I am a final year fine art student currently exploring femininity, florals and girlhood within my painting practice. I love painting fine details and using bright colours in my work. Ethnically, I’m vietnamese but I have grown up in and call Hong Kong home. 

Malak Nooh - Jordan

“Biophilic†is an architectural piece that encompasses the primary elements of Biophilic design.  The elements include: water, plant and light. The platform component mimics the look and flow of water.   The curved structures derive from the soft movement of ferns slowly curing in the wind. The presence of water stimulates and encourages relaxation and calmness
Malak standing smiling from the side wears a blue shirt and stands in a green field

º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ Malak Nooh

I am an Industrial Design student here at º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ. “Biophilic” is an architectural piece that encompasses the primary elements of Biophilic design. The elements include: water, plant and light. The platform component mimics the look and flow of water.

The curved structures derive from the soft movement of ferns slowly curing in the wind. The presence of water stimulates and encourages relaxation and calmness.

The environment I have chosen to place my structure in is Amman, Jordan. As a Jordanian, I want to reconnect the public with nature through the physical and visual aspects by creating a space that promotes wellness and productivity.

Muhammad Asad - Pakistan

An abstract artwork of a figure holding a trumpet and a sword dressed in white robes
Muhammad Asad wears glasses and a º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ labcoat

º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ Muhammad Asad

I am currently undertaking my PhD in Chemistry.

I love to paint, most of my paintings are on specific themes like hope, women day, depression or strength. Cubism is my favourite style of painting

Mathilde de Jaham - France

Based on Richard Powers ‘Bewilderment’ (2022)


The Silence of a Galaxy

We wandered in empty space but got ejected
I was rogue planets in timeless night
trapped at the crossover
Failed silence cloaked
the deadest place of the universe outgrew
any aware intelligence


find another greenhouse.


The volcanic seams couldn’t learn new tricks
Making me up for the universe to see
outrageous designs kept watching:
our endless was the better one.

My melting point can eat all kind of things.

One chain of volcanic islands sprinkled through an empty book
spread hosts for creatures
taking turns to sleep
my own planet spoke millions of colours
only he’ll never hear them.

They trapped life between permanent noon and midnight
          their minds failed to comprehend
I saw no one on Earth
 forever
I exist,
            ten million empty books,
Alone
Perpetual one-in-a-million, iced
They shared common knowledge
that I heard in colour-like somethings

Abandoned pastures of solar cells fallen into decay
All frozen
            on its own
Going on forever until the power failed

blazed transitory feelings
in a modest star system lost in grace
my power never managed to get their attention

I?
Gone
                 remember
                             remember
real pain: where is everyone?
I ought to never have been
Believe, the burn of the sun
the smell of living solutions
changing inside my head
Light travels past black holes,
take me for a quick look around,
time is there
I know what it wants from me
His brain learns
he knows what I love,
He sees the universe in me
                But we might never find them.

Mathilde has blonde hair and round glasses and is sitting in a booth

º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ Mathilde

I write fiction and poetry. I have been writing for as long as I have been able to thread one word after the other. I write a varied work from fantasy to found poetry, I just like having fun with words and trying to find ways to escape and express life.

Liba Malik - Pakistan

3,857 Miles

 

When I was 1,

My ammi left her home behind, 

She tells me it was to give me a better life, 

But I know that it came at the cost of her own.

 

I see the way she clutches her parents, 

When we say our goodbyes at the airport. 

The smell of my grandfather’s ittar lingers on my mother’s tear-stained face, 

She longs for the day where these goodbyes do not have to take place. 

 

——

 

I remember my ammi working nights.

She told me it was so she could earn money for us.

I just wished she could stay by my side, 

Patting my hair while singing me the loris of her childhood. 

Instead, I would clutch her dupatta to my chest, 

Breathing in the scent of her perfume as I tried to rest. 

 

———

 

I remember my baba cooking dinner. 

He told me that food was an important part of our culture. 

On rainy days, he would make us pakorein and chai,

Telling us the stories of his childhood back home.

In moments like these, my father’s armour lifts, 

And I see the shimmer of a young boy who is yet to die. 

 

———

 

In every memory of my childhood, 

I feel the warm breeze of Pakistan. 

My parents have brought me up in a foreign land, 

But they have never let me forget my roots. 

My tongue may speak English, 

But my blood sings in Urdu. 

 

———

 

We may have left Pakistan, 

But our hearts are forever buried in that sacred land of the free,

Wrapped in the flag of the crescent and star,

Covered in the leaves of the deodar tree.

Liba has long curly brown hair and smiles against a glass fronted building

º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ Liba

My parents and I immigrated from Pakistan to the UK when I was a baby, so I grew up with a mix of British and Pakistani culture. My poem is about how my parents ensured that Pakistan would always be with us, even if we are miles away.

Huong Le - Vietnam

A still life arrangement featuring wrapped packages, vietnamese text and a painted image of food
Huong a Vietnamese student in her early 20s wears a red beret and a christmas jumper and holds a rose

º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ Huong Le

I am an Arts and Design foundation student. In Vietnamese new year, displaying Mâm ngÅ© quả (five-fruit plate) on the ancestor altar is an importance part of our cultures. The five-fruit plate includes grapefruit, pear, banana, chilli and kumquat, which symbolize the respectability and gratitude to ancestor and desire for success. Moreover, Bánh ChÆ°ng, Bánh Dày are the main symbol of Vietnamese Tet, which are also placed on the ancestor altar.  

Arịmoku - Nigeria

±õ³óụa²Ô²â²¹

There’s a saying
In my mother tongue
a hụrụ m gị n'anya
a hụrụ m : meaning I see
gị n'anya: your eyes

To tell you a hụrụ m gị n'anya is to
Seek refuge under the realms of your retinas from
Worldy rages
To dance in the labyrinth that is your iris
For all I need is to dive into the depths of your brown
Hold me there in eternal maroon

To tell you a hụrụ m gị n'anya
Is to hide from the world with no semblance of responsibility
To hide under mattress and bedsheets
To build a forts as tall as the tallest sycamores
To nurture the inner breathes of your being
To hide
and to expose
The hidden parts of me scattered amongst mazes etched into my very being
Etched on to coins left behind for you to gather my riches and throw them away in wishing
wells
Etched into we

To tell you a hụrụ m gị n'anya is to
give you my stars and my moons
For you to hold a cacophony of my celestial thoughts
To Tell you a hụrụ m gị n'anya is for you to eternally fall into my being
To eternally fuse in to my soul
To let my lashes guard you from the rain
and the hailstones of life
For You always hated thunderstorms

To tell you a hụrụ m gị n'anya
Is too simply say
I love you

-´¡°ùịm´Ç°ì³Ü

Ari, a nigerian male student wears a white and beige top and looks to camera

º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ Arịmoku

My work encompasses the human condition. From the personal highs and lows of the individual to social critiques of the collective. My work is an extension of my view of what it is truly be human and part of humanity. 

Cheng Iris - Hong Kong

A detailed up close photo of a model of a Parisian museum
Fashion Design and Technology student Iris from Hong Kong stands in a black studio space

º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ Iris

I am a Fashion Design and Technology student and am also a multi-media artist from Hong Kong. I love travelling around Europe ever since I moved to UK 3 years ago. I like recording the things I see and the places I visit through drawing and photography.â 
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This photo was taken during one of my trips to Paris. The photograph is of a model of Palais Garnier in Musée d'Orsay. As a fan of Phantom of the Opera, I wanted to recreate the atmosphere from the story and give it a new perspective.