Hanna Benihoud creates A Labour of Love and is an artist to watch for 2016

You may not yet have seen the creations of ‘A Labour of Love’ from artist and architect Hanna Benihoud, but it is a fair prediction to say she’ll be a name to know by the end of 2016.

Having secretly made art for years, Benihoud slowly let the cat out of the bag with shows with ‘The Skull Appreciation Society’ and the ‘Festival of Love’ at Earl Haig Hall. Newly signed to the Curious Duke Gallery, you can see her feathered creations at the ‘Insert Art Here’ show which runs until 29 February 2016.

‘A Labour of Love‘ began after Hanna completed her 9 years of architecture studies and felt her thumbs twiddling for a new challenge. She says of ‘A labour of love’, “the name seems so fitting for what I experience when creating my pieces. A lot of my work is quite tedious, repetitive or annoyingly fiddly but I persevere because I know it will be worth it in the end. I have not been let down by the process yet!” She certainly hasn’t, each of her artworks is created painstakingly to brilliant effect.

SONY DSC hanna benihoud — ‘You make my heart flutter’ by Hanna Benihoud

Each of Benihoud’s artworks also has story to go with them. Take ‘You make my heart flutter’, the tiny ethically sourced feathers shimmer in a rainbow of fluffy tenderness, in which she describes that nervous excitement of butterflies in you stomach feeling from your “first date right through to standing at an alter reciting your vows.” It is these carefully made and tiny details, which make her artwork, so eye catching, you know it’s made with love and attention. These feathered friends might also help you out of that Valentine’s Day shaped hole.

When asked what she would like people to think when they see her little words, Benihoud hopes for ‘Captivating’. I think we can give her that one.

This was a post by guest author Sinead Loftus and is the second in our ‘ones to watch series’. For the first part of the series featuring artist Karis Knight click here. You can see more of Hanna’s artwork at the Curious Duke Gallery or on her website. To watch an interview with Hanna as she talks about her ‘labour of love’ have a look below.