Tahira Mandarino is a London-based artist, living and working in the city. She is a mother of two and co-founder of Raw Ground Arts and Drawing Matters. She studied at Chelsea College of Arts and Wimbledon College of Arts, graduating from Wimbledon in 2014 with an MFA in Fine Art.Her multidisciplinary practice centres on discovery through exposure, capturing moments of vulnerability and emotional unveiling while exploring the paradox of being both seen and unseen. Tahira embraces the complexity of working across different mediums, allowing her themes to be interpreted and expressed in multiple ways rather than being confined to a single approach. This openness enables continual learning and transformation within her practice, informing new directions and methods of making. Her current work includes portraiture, textiles, and photography.
My work brings together personal narrative, textile process, and the body as both subject and material. I explore the tension between our internal and external selves, particularly how identity is shaped by social expectations, cultural absence, and inherited silence. This research stems from my relationship with my Pakistani father, who left the family home when I was five, leaving gaps in my understanding of my cultural heritage. Rather than illustrating this directly, I translate fragmented memories into material form.
