Phéran Explorations by Seema Malik Kachroo
SITE #4:
Stanley A. Milner EPL
Seema Malik Kachroo
Phéran Explorations
VENUE ADDRESS: 7 Winston Churchill Sq NW, Edmonton, AB T5J 2V5
Monday: 9am - 9pm
Tuesday: 9am - 9pm
Wednesday: 9am - 9pm
Thursday: 9am - 9pm
Friday: 9am - 9pm
Saturday: 9am - 6pm
Sunday: 10am - 5pm
**Closed on Canada Day
Seema Malik Kachroo, Phéran Explorations-1. Kashmiri tea ink, gouache, acrylic, cyanotype, pencil, hand stitching and egg wash on Mulberry paper. 40”x 60” 2024
Phéran Explorations is a series of hand-constructed paper phérans—a long, loose, shirt-like robe, worn by people of Kashmir, India. These phérans reflect on the personal history of the exodus and displacement of the small community of Kashmiri Hindus from Jammu and Kashmir, India, in 1990 and the consequential loss of land, identity, traditions, literature and language. The phérans here become the carriers of a lost culture and its stories.
ARTIST STATEMENT
“Through my artistic practice I archive and preserve waning cultural traditions while creating space for healing and the transfer of intergenerational knowledge.”
The convergence of multiple cultural identities shape my artistic practice: raised in a Punjabi-Hindu military household, married into a displaced Kashmiri-Hindu family, and resettled as a woman of colour in Canada. As a visual artist, painter, and storyteller, I draw from my lived experiences to explore themes of displacement, cultural preservation, and identity.
Phéran Explorations reflects on my personal history of the marginalized Kashmiri Pandit community from the Jammu and Kashmir region in India. These community members had to leave their homeland due to targeted violence in the early 1990s. Through this project, I examine how displacement, loss of language, culture and targeted genocide affect many communities beyond my own. Phéran Explorations is a series of 6 hand-constructed paper phérans—a traditional Kashmiri garment, worn by all in Kashmir, similar to a loose and long shirt-like garment. The garments here become carriers of the culture's stories.
The core aesthetics of these works are geographical maps, Indian scripts such as Devanagri and Sharada, text in Hindi, Kashmiri and English language, Kashmiri hand embroidered shawls, textiles, archived photographs, native Kashmiri landscapes, decimated temples from Kashmir, objects of culture (both Eastern and Western) and observations from my daily life in Edmonton, Alberta. In Phéran Explorations, I have experimented across many mediums, including organic tea inks, Kashmiri hand embroidery, hand stitching, printmaking, watercolours, gouache, paper cutting and hand-cut stencils.
Through my artistic practice I archive and preserve waning cultural traditions while creating space for healing and the transfer of intergenerational knowledge. I consider my work deeply important to our collective knowledge and explore these stories to create space for conversations around what it means to be a resident of Turtle Island, incorporating the cultures, stories, and objects of various histories.
WORKSHOP
June 28, 3pm - 4pm
Stories of The Land: Exploring displacement, cultural memory and belonging through painting, printmaking and research-based practice.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Seema M Kachroo was born and brought up in New Delhi, India. Both sets of her Hindu-Punjabi grandparents had migrated during the partition of India in 1947 and settled in New Delhi. In 1989, she married into a small community of Kashmiri Hindus in Srinagar, Kashmir valley, India, where she and her husband decided to settle. In the early 1990s, the minority Hindu population had to leave the state due to terrorism and target killings. In the year 2000, Seema decided to immigrate to Canada with her family.
From 2017 to 2023, Seema was an open studies student at the University of Alberta studying painting and printmaking. The courses she took helped her understand contemporary art trends, build a peer group and strengthen her art practice. The academic experience at the University of Alberta, combined with participation in Edmonton Art Walks and local art shows, encouraged her to pursue further learning and consider graduate programs. In May 2025, Seema graduated with an MFA in Visual Arts from Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador.
Presently, Seema is a contemporary emerging visual artist who lives and works in Edmonton, Alberta. As a person of colour settled in Canada, Seema is investigating the interpretations of displacement, diaspora, identity, migration, and hybrid cultures. She consciously juxtaposes elements from Eastern and Western traditions in her work to create dynamic visual spaces. Seema’s work manifests in the form of artists’ books, paintings on paper, paper objects, scrolls, and oil paintings.
Seema also works towards reviving the culture, language, and script of her marginalized community through her artistic practice. Seema is presently in an artist residency at J-5 Design, Business management and consultants in Edmonton, AB. She lives in Edmonton and works from her home studio.
Instagram: @seemakachrooart