Henna by Shanu – A love for the intricate of henna designs

‘I am a tiny girl from a tiny island who has big dreams and set sail to achieve them. I was immensely fond of henna since I was little.’

Shanu is a First Year Interior Design student who has a love for intricate details in the world of henna.  Coming from Maldives, she inspired by Maldivian rational art such as lacquer work, mat weaving, and nature (including trees, flowers, and ocean) as well as other henna artists. 

‘My henna journey started, as I remember, when my parents used to travel to India, they would bring some henna cones for me. I used to do henna with my siblings then. I started doing henna professionally when I was 16, which was after my O’levels. I was going through a local henna artist’s Instagram feed when I noticed that she had really detailed designs, which I found appealing. I used to replicate them on me with a pen, as I wasn’t confident enough to do it with a cone. I researched about different styles of henna and the techniques used to apply henna through Instagram, Youtube, and other websites.’

She finds the complex details of henna quite intriguing as it challenges her to try out new techniques and improve her methods.

‘When I have a certain idea on my mind, I try to sketch it on a piece of paper and try different styles of it, incorporate various elements into it to get the best results and then execute the design on the skin. Or, I just let myself do whatever comes to my mind at the moment and go with the flow.’