Aleesha Nandhra is an artist and illustrator working in the form of prints, comic zines, and online media.
Her illustrations are often inspired by Indian icons, such as in her 2018 Google Doodle commission to celebrate the 148th Birthday of Dadasaheb Phalke, who created the first silent film in India, or her Illustration for ESPN to accompany an article about the influence of India’s women cricketers. In both of these illustrations, Nandhra employs her distinguished use of colour, matched to her carefully casual handling of lines.
In her comic zine works, Nandhra employs concise and eloquent language, often reading like the quiet and introspective whispers of thoughts, to accompany her illustrations, which are sometimes whimsical, other times atmospheric, and sometimes both.
Nandhra has worked with and been commissioned by large institutions such as Google Inc., The Barbican Centre, The Los Angeles Times, ESPN, Somerset House/Film4, and Buzzfeed News.
Aleesha Nandhra and artist Hassan Vawda represented Iniva at #MyWestminster Day on Paddington Recreation Ground in 2019, delivering a community led zine making and mono-printing workshop in the park for families. The workshop used books selected from the Stuart Hall Library such as Rock Against Racism and monographs of Chila Burman and Lubaina Himid alongside the Emotional Learning Card set ‘What do you feel?’ to inspire and spark the young people’s imaginations. The imagery produced from this workshop formed Caxton Youth zine which launched at Iniva and now sits in the Stuart Hall Library collection.
Aleesha Nandhra lives and works in London.