Sara Mush
Sara Mush grew up with Henna being a part of her culture and family and has managed to turn her art into a profession. Sara talks to Hong Kong Magazine about her views on henna, her favorite experiences in the industry, the history of Henna and how she develops her own style and designs.
Hong Kong Magazine: What does henna mean to you?
Sara: It’s something quite personal. Its something that I grew up learning because I used to watch my mum do it for brides and I kind of picked it up from there and I was like ‘this is really nice’. It’s a part of my culture, before I went away to university I didn’t really value it that much and then when I went away it was a way for me to keep in touch with my roots because I was able to do it over there for people and they found it really fascinating so I thought it was a way to share a bit of my culture with them so it became my haven.
HK: So you did henna for people at university?
S: Yes, I used to do it over there for festivals, usually music festivals. It was just a really great way to earn some money and I love doing it and loved meeting the people I met through it. There it was never anything professional, it was just for fun but I did it there for the four years I was at university and moved back here and it was never my intention to turn it into a business but it kind of just happened that way.
HK: What do you aim to achieve with your art in Hong Kong?
S: I find that although Hong Kong is such a multicultural city a lot of us don’t actually know about each other’s cultures. We’re here and we have friends that are from all over the world but we don’t actually take the time to learn about each other so my aim would be to get people to be aware of this art and, in a way, its part of my culture that they’re sharing with me. I teach people about Pakistani culture, about where henna came from and things like that. My aim at the end of it all is to have everyone in Hong Kong try henna at least once and experience it.
HK: What is the story behind brides and grooms getting henna before their weddings?
S: At every traditional Pakistani and Indian wedding they have a night called the henna night which is basically for the bride and her friends to get henna done on their bodies. For a bride it symbolizes a new beginning. When henna first started it actually started because henna has a very cooling affect so when there were no air cons people used to cover their hands just to cool themselves off and that’s where it came from as well as using henna for your hair. For brides it was a way for them to adorn themselves and stand out from the rest of the people. Back then the designs weren’t as intricate as they are now, it was literally just a round circle on the palms and on the finger tips so when you would see a girl with that you would know she was about to get married or had recently gotten married. It stands for starting a new chapter of your life. A few traditional motifs for bridal henna such as peacocks or the brides and grooms faces on their bodies.
HK: How do you come up with new designs?
S: I get inspired by things around me. Any time I get inspired by a pattern I jot it down in my sketchbook and try to incorporate it into a new design. It's a very thought out process.
HK: What would you say some of your best experiences have been in this industry?
S: Definitely when I get flown abroad to do destination weddings, it’s the best! Everything is paid for, I get to go away for three days and do the brides henna. Sometimes these brides are people I’ve never seen before; they find me online and book me. The last one I did was in Thailand a couple of months ago which was great, I did the brides henna and then the family the next say and then the full party the next day, it was a great experience. Others have been big fundraisers that I’ve done. I did the worldwide refugee day last year and basically there was a fair organized by Christian Action service center and that was great. A lot of these people don’t get the chance to go out and about or have the money to pay for such services so I was just there doing henna for them for free. It was such a great experience because as I was doing henna for them I was teaching them about it and they were telling me about themselves, learning about them in those five minutes I think that’s the best thing. Sharing with people is great.