Hands at Work: An Interview with Laxmi Hussain

We’re so delighted to be bringing back our Maker Series with the artist Laxmi Hussain. We’ve admired her work for years, so it was a joy to step into her studio one August afternoon and spend time chatting and admiring her works.

For anyone who isn’t familiar with your beautiful work, could you introduce yourself and tell us about your practice? 

I’m Laxmi Hussain, a London-born artist. My work often celebrates the female body and the many ways it changes over time – through motherhood, ageing. I’m fascinated by how our bodies adapt, morph, and carry memory, and I hope that translates in my work. 

Much of your work is suffused with blue. Can you tell me the story about how you came to fall in love with it?

Blue became central to my practice around the same time I began taking art more seriously. My mother passed away in 2018, and that period coincided with my growing obsession with the colour. After she died, my sister sent me this photo of her and she's wearing blue. It's a core memory from when I was five. And it kind of all just clicked. 

When I looked back through family archives, blue was everywhere: my first birthday cake, the dress my mother made for me, even my grandfather painted my sister’s cot blue, when we first went to visit him in the Philippines. It’s threaded through my life. Beyond the personal, blue is also nature; it’s the sky, it’s the ocean. 

Your work also focuses deeply on the body. Why has that become so central to your storytelling?

It's a bit of my mom and the kind of motherhood that she passed down to me. It's things that I'm remembering and also how  I am displaying that in my own motherhood, how that's being passed down…

Love, touch, the ways we hold each other: We don't tend to think of these tactile things as something that you pass down, but they are, like your memories and the way you speak and  the way you hold someone or even simple gestures, right?

On a personal level, I started painting bodies because I didn’t see mine represented in art. I never felt worthy of being in a painting or magazine. Now, I’m proud that my work has changed that for me, and I want others – not only women, but my children too – to know that every body is worthy of being seen.

As I move through different stages of life, I’m conscious of documenting those changes. We live our lives not in one stage. I’m in my forties now, and my body has shifted again – through weightlifting, through motherhood. It can do incredible things I never imagined possible. Our bodies are fascinating; they’re always in flux, and that’s worth capturing.

How important is self-care to you? Do you have rituals that support you?

Self-care has always been important. Everyone has hobbies and essentially this [art] is my hobby, right?  So what do I do outside of that? I go to the gym. I, also, love a facial. My work is so tactile – I need to touch and hold things – so looking after my hands and skin feels essential.

I always start and end my day with my face. Cleansing, moisturising – it’s about freshness and taking a private moment for myself, especially as a mother. It’s a small ritual, but it grounds me.

Your work is so tied to working with your hands. What does that mean for you?

Everything that leaves my studio has passed through my hands. That’s why I rarely make prints – each piece is the result of hours of thought, brushstrokes full of intent.

When someone takes a piece home, they’re not just buying an image, they’re holding something I’ve touched, something infused with my ethos of gentleness and care. To me, that's why I think artists are so important, because we remind everyone of their humanity. 

You’ve spoken before about scent and memory. What scents are you most drawn to?

I grew up with a big oak tree in the garden, so earthy, natural smells are powerful for me. Bonfire smoke is another – that autumnal scent in the air when neighbours lit fires. Those things are really also about nostalgia, aren’t they?! 

Totally, you’ve just tried our Reia scents. Which was your favourite?

I loved the Lime Leaf, Vetiver and Amber, it’s something that I would use in the morning after going to the gym, you just know where you're really pumped. 

I also loved SILVA – with juniper, petitgrain, and rose geranium. It has a crisp, peppery smokiness, which I’m always drawn to in fragrance. 

Our series is called Hands at Work. What does it take for you to deliver your craft, and how does it impact you?

It takes wearing many hats. I’m one person, so my process is inherently slow and sustainable, but I’m still careful about where I source materials and whose labour has contributed to them.

Being an artist can be hard – financially, emotionally – but I believe it’s important. Art builds connection and community. When I share my story, someone else sees themselves in it and realises they’re not alone. That’s why artists and makers matter.