Husna Samer
On Tracing Longing
Written by Nayla
“In her words, home is “less of a physical space and more of a feeling I try to pin down.” It appears and reappears throughout her work as an emotional or psychological condition - one that resists permanence.”
On Being Between Places
Husna Samer (b. 2005) is an artist and oil painter based in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Though her family originates from Hyderabad, India, Samer was born and raised in the UAE - an in-between geography that subtly informs the emotional undercurrents of her work. From an early age, her artistic development was shaped through mentorships with various artists, each contributing to the evolution of her practice and her way of seeing.
Rather than adhering to a singular lineage or aesthetic inheritance, Samer’s work emerges from a layered upbringing - one marked by cultural memory, observation, and an acute sensitivity to internal states.
On Home as a Feeling
For Samer, home is not anchored to architecture or geography. Instead, it operates as something far more unstable and intimate. In her words, home is “less of a physical space and more of a feeling I try to pin down.” It appears and reappears throughout her work as an emotional or psychological condition - one that resists permanence.
This elusive understanding of home becomes a method of documentation. Her paintings attempt to preserve moments in their rawest, most subjective form. As she explains, “I want to remember a moment in its wholly biased way.” In this sense, memory is not corrected or clarified - it is honored precisely because of its distortion.
Wistful 2024, Oil on Canvas
On Art as an Ongoing State of Being
Samer’s relationship to her practice resists conventional definitions of labor or routine. While she dedicates a significant portion of her time to making art, she does not experience it as something with a beginning or an end. Instead, art exists as a continuous process - one that shapes her perception of the world as much as her lived experiences shape the work in return.
Despite being a double-major undergraduate student, she describes her practice as something that “never feels like work,” even as it occupies most of her time. Art, for Samer, is not compartmentalized - it is a lens through which everything else is filtered.
February 11, 2024, Oil on Canvas
On Surrealism, Symbolism, and Sufi Echoes
Surrealism and symbolism function as natural extensions of how Samer processes her lived experiences—many of which have felt foreign or dislocated. She is drawn to art and literature that rely on metaphor and imagery, favoring “dreamlike storytelling that entranced the reader,” a hypnotic quality she seeks to replicate visually.
Her symbolic language is also deeply informed by cultural exposure to Sufi thought. Her grandfather, an Urdu and Persian poet and translator, left behind an influence that was “an atmospheric presence rather than a readable archive.” Approached outside a strictly religious framework, Sufi ideas resonated with her through their layered tension, suspended perception, and uncertainty—qualities that closely mirror surrealist sensibilities.
Within her work, symbolism acts as what she calls “poetic anchors,” offering organic ways to articulate emotional states through metaphor and personification.
On ‘Longing, Triptych’ (2024)
One of Samer’s most personal works, Longing, Triptych (2024), was recently exhibited at Mirage in Abu Dhabi. Composed of three panels, the piece is intended to be read as a narrative - drawing on the recurring Sufi notion of nature as an extension of the human body and mind.
The work traces the emotional arc of intense desire “as it begins until it ends,” exploring the tension between solitude and longing. It reflects how humans can be simultaneously rooted in connection while entangled in emotions that are both nurturing and damaging. Themes of transcendence, surrender, and renewal emerge, reinforcing Samer’s belief that “human nature is just a spiral.”
Audience interpretations have varied widely - from readings about human relationships to personal growth and spiritual reckoning. For Samer, this multiplicity completes the work’s journey. The fact that it “creates conversations” and “creates introspection” makes the act of creation - intentional or intuitive - deeply fulfilling.
Never show up empty handed, 2025, Acrylic on canvas
On Autobiographical Memory and Shared Resonance
While Samer engages with both collective and personal memory, she is more instinctively drawn to the autobiographical. Intense personal experiences are easier for her to translate into work that resonates emotionally. These memories serve as entry points rather than fixed narratives.
Autobiographical memory becomes the emotional trigger - a sensation, image, or mood - while the work itself evolves intuitively into something shared. When working from personal memory, her process is slower and more intimate, involving repetition, erasure, and subtle shifts. She describes it as “circling around something I am not ready to name directly.”
In contrast, when engaging with collective memory, her approach becomes more structured. She focuses more on form and symbol, asking how an image can hold multiple meanings as its context changes.
On Mirage Abu Dhabi
Exhibiting at Mirage at Erth in Abu Dhabi was, for Samer, a surreal and affirming experience. The exhibition felt less like a traditional show and more like an extension of the work itself. The pace of the space created a sense of suspension - blurring the boundary between what felt real and imagined.
What stood out most was the collective nature of the exhibition’s creation. Built on trust, conversation, and mutual care between artists and organizers, Mirage fostered a sense of community that extended beyond Abu Dhabi and into the wider region. For Samer, the relationships formed during this process were as meaningful as the exhibition itself.
The Urge to Fly to the Sun, 2025, Acrylic on canvas
On Growing Within Community
As one of the youngest artists in several group exhibitions, Samer views her position as an ongoing learning experience. Exposure to seasoned artists has allowed her to witness the many ways a practice can be built and sustained. This diversity has helped her develop confidence in her own voice while remaining open to growth.
Working alongside more established artists has expanded the contexts in which her work is seen - and strengthened her appreciation for shared knowledge and mentorship.
On Looking Forward: Risk, Play, and Evolution
Looking ahead, Samer sees her practice moving toward greater risk-taking, particularly in how memory and identity are explored. She is interested in pushing memory to its extremities - allowing it to warp and observing where it leads.
At the same time, she resists confinement within a single conceptual framework. Her process remains organic, allowing one project to inform the next with minimal intervention. For the coming years, her focus is clear: to keep making work, to prioritize play over perfection, and to continue evolving conceptually, technically, and visually.
Repentance, Sincerity, Remembrance & Love, 2025
Images Courtesy of the Artist.
Words Copyright of Naso Art Journal
