Nidhi Mariam Jacob’s solo exhibition in Bangalore, Shape of My Heart, uses imagined gardens to explore grief, memory and renewal in painting.
About the exhibition
Shape of My Heart is a solo show by Nidhi Mariam Jacob at KYNKYNY Art Gallery in Bangalore. The exhibition runs from 24 July to 22 August 2026 and presents a group of paintings born from the artist’s experience of mourning and remembering her mother. The works create fantasy gardens that are not real places but emotional landscapes shaped by memory and feeling.
Artist practice
Jacob draws on childhood memories of her mother, Helen Elizabeth Jacob, who worked with soil and plants. As a child, Nidhi believed her mother had a kind of magic with plants. That sense of wonder shapes the paintings, where flowers and foliage seem alive with stories and meaning. Jacob moves away from strict realism. Colours and forms bend to mood and imagination.
Image Credit: KYNKYNY Art Gallery
Key themes
The show centres on grief, remembrance and transformation. Each painting acts as a tribute to Helen’s knowledge of plants as medicine and healers. Jacob treats nature as a living idea: resilient, changing and full of possibility. The paintings use gardens as symbols — places where memory, longing and curiosity meet.
Curatorial notes
Rather than document real gardens, Jacob builds emotional spaces. The compositions favour intuition over botanical accuracy. Flowers extend beyond their usual forms, and colour becomes a tool for feeling. This approach keeps the works close to the artist’s personal story while opening them up to broader themes of growth and renewal.
Image Credit: KYNKYNY Art Gallery
Highlights
Several works in Shape of My Heart recall the small, patient acts of tending a garden. Through repeated motifs of leaves, blooms and soil, the paintings honour a mother-daughter bond and the lessons passed down. The exhibition reads as both private remembrance and a public celebration of creativity and care.
Exhibition Details
Title: Shape of My Heart
Artist: Nidhi Mariam Jacob
Venue: KYNKYNY Art Gallery, 104 Embassy Square, 148 Infantry Road, Bangalore 560001
Dates: 24 July – 22 August 2026
Timings: Monday – Saturday, 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM (Closed Sundays)
This article has been created from the press kit shared with Abir Pothi. For press releases and related queries, write to editor@abirpothi.com.
Cover Image Credit: KYNKYNY Art Gallery
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