Anahi Mandaca

Figure 2.10 - Mandaca, A., (2019) henna design of an eight-point star and arabesque pattern.

Figure 2.11 - Mandaca, A., (2018) A henna design depicting a solid twelve-point star geometric pattern

Anahi Mandaca is a henna artist from Chile, South America, who creates henna designs that incorporate aspects of Islamic art. In the pictures above, she has used geometry and arabesque to compose a henna design (see figure 2.10 and 2.11).

Combining this design style with the technique of henna application is not common, although geometric henna is seen in North African henna designs in basic forms (squares and triangles). Complex geometry in henna is uncommon because it requires precise measurements and symmetry which, from personal experience, can be difficult to achieve without a ruler and compass.

In an interview with Mandaca, conducted via email on the 17th of July 2019, Mandaca mentioned that her inspiration for geometric henna comes from Turkish and Moroccan architecture, which she was drawn to when she attended classes on Islamic geometry in the respective countries. So having a decent amount of knowledge on the topic and how it is composed contributes to her being able to achieve this outcome.

I would like to create henna designs and possibly fabric stain designs with the same reference. I think it would be an interesting avenue to explore. Mandaca has shared information and pictures of her work from the classes that she attended on Islamic geometry online on Instagram, which may be useful for me to use as a guide to create geometric henna designs as well (Samsarahenna 2019).