Hassina Khan
Old Jet, Bentwaters Parks, Rendlesham, Suffolk IP12 2TW
Hassina specialises in kiln-formed glass, using fusing and slumping techniques, as well as traditional glass painting, to make objects that enrich homes and spaces. Her work is informed by her English and Pakistani backgrounds and her designs and forms reflect the in-between-ness of her mixed heritage. The starting point for much of her work is short fragments of text that she writes about themes or issues that are important to her. These are then transliterated into a fusion of English and Urdu; the words are English but they are written using characters from Nastaliq (the Perso-Arabic script used to write Urdu). The words and characters are then further manipulated by playing with scale, rotation and order, to create an abstract composition that cannot be read but speaks to the viewer on a conceptual level.
Hassina studied at the University of Sunderland, based in the National Glass Centre, where she received an innovation award to explore the use of Urdu in glass. She graduated in December 2022 and her final piece ‘Hybridity. Do not ask’ was acquired by Sunderland Museum. She won the Glass Society Prize in 2023 and her recent piece ‘A new way of being’ was selected for the British Glass Biennale 2024. She is a select member of Crafts Council Directory and Design Nation.
