Mamta is an interactive outdoor installation by Sarah Imran that explores themes of maternal love, environmental care, and intergenerational connection. The Urdu word Mamta refers to maternal love — the deep, nurturing care a mother offers. The installation is inspired by the artist’s experience of mothering her daughter, her relationship with her mother, and the love we receive from Mother Nature.
Built from invasive vines and natural materials found at Imago, the large nest structure is designed to be big enough for children to enter, sit, play, and imagine. Inside the nest are egg sculptures made from clay. Along with the large nest on the ground, the installation includes three smaller nests placed on tree stumps, each holding small clay eggs that children are invited to discover, touch, and play with.
The installation also features a reflection corner with painted tree stumps, with each adorned with mother and baby bird designs. Wooden planks display guiding questions that invite visitors to consider: How does the Earth care for us and nurture us? And how might we care for the Earth in return?
Photo Gallery
Funding Contributed by:
Mamta is one of the four art installations in Gallery in the Woods 2025. The guiding principle of the Gallery in the Woods 2025 program is to repurpose invasive species for installation, creating beauty and contemplation along Imago’s trails.
Sarah Imran
Sarah is also a mission-driven artist and illustrator based in Cincinnati OH. Her art is grounded in gender, racial, and social justice. She is inspired by feminist movements, nature, joyful design, her Pakistani roots, and her daughter.
Sarah is also a Political Science PhD Candidate with a concentration in Feminist Comparative International Politics.
Her research interests include gender justice, feminist networks in the Global South, and decolonial feminist futures.
She serves on the organizing team of the annual Aurat March (Women’s March) in Pakistan in the capacity of a researcher, writer, and artist. You can find her at www.sarahzimran.com and @sarahzimran.
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Through our preservation of urban nature, our hands-on green workshops, and our education programs for youth, Imago is fostering an exciting, sustainable future that benefits us all.