‘Through stories, we get to experience many lives’

Tarab Khan is a contemporary artist, author and storyteller whose creative practice moves fluidly between the worlds of visual art and literature. Her work is deeply influenced by imagination, storytelling and her fascination with worlds that exist beyond the familiar.

She is currently presenting her latest solo exhibition, Time Unchained, at the Kamalnayan Bajaj Art Gallery in Mumbai, from September 15-20. The exhibition explores ideas of time, memory and shifting realities, bringing together dreamlike imagery and recurring symbols that invite the viewer to look beyond the visible.

In this conversation with Shiv Sethi, Tarab speaks about the stories behind her art, her literary influences, the recurring motifs in her work, and how writing and painting continue to shape her creative journey. Excerpts…

How has your love for writing and storytelling influenced your journey as an artist?

I’ve always loved writing, and I’ve been especially drawn to fables and stories that transport you into another world. For me, it was never just about escapism. It was about entering a different reality, discovering something new, and coming back with a different perspective.

In real life, we can only live one life, but through stories, we get to experience many. I think that fascination naturally flows into my art as well. When I paint, I’m not simply creating an image; somewhere, I’m also telling a story. My writing and my art really come from the same place: my love for imagination and storytelling.

What themes, emotions or subjects are most frequently reflected in your artwork?

A recurring motif in my work is the idea of a portal. It may appear as a lamp, a smoking pipe, or an unexpected opening, but for me, it represents a passage between realities, time and imagination.

I’ve always been fascinated by the possibility of crossing into another world, perhaps influenced by stories like Alice in Wonderland and Narnia. In my work, the portal becomes more than an object; it becomes a space of transition, inviting the viewer to move beyond the familiar and imagine another reality.

Which literary work or writer has intrigued and influenced you the most?

Fernando Pessoa has always fascinated me, both as a writer and as a mystery. He wrote through different literary identities, each with its own voice and personality, almost as though several writers lived within him.

I’m especially intrigued by the trunk he left behind, filled with thousands of pages of manuscripts and fragments. There is something beautiful about quietly creating an entire literary universe without knowing how far it might one day travel.

Which of your own creative works have you felt most deeply invested in?

At this stage, I would say it is the two books I have been developing over couple of years, one on storytelling and the other on art. I’ve invested a great deal of myself in them, not only creatively, but through months of research, experimentation and thought.

The storytelling book is an invitation into the world of stories: how we imagine, develop themes and find our own voice. The art book explores what art is, its different eras and ideas, while introducing creative techniques that encourage readers to discover their own way of seeing.