Surabhi Sankhe | Illustration - UCA Student Showcase

Work 1: Poster Design

Title: In the Heart of Farnham
Medium: Digital

Description: This vibrant poster serves as a whimsical visual archive celebrating Farnham’s rich identity as a historic market town. Moving away from cold architectural documentation, the illustration uses a rich, celebratory palette to weave together centuries of local heritage and everyday community life.

At its center, the Waverley abbey monumental heart frames the 1138 Farnham Castle alongside a symbolic lion and lamb, surrounded by St. Andrew’s soaring spire, historic houses, Farnham Maltings and the town’s famous Tudor timber frontages. Playful local wildlife- including elegant swans gliding along the sweeping curves of the River Wey -mingle with historic figures and glowing festival lanterns. Grounded in contemporary heritage, this illustration transforms historical research into a joyful, accessible, and continuous public landscape designed to foster collective memory and civic pride.

Work 2: Carved Ceramic Illustrations

Title: Home is Where the Heart is

Medium: Hand-Thrown, Sgraffito-Carved Glazed Earthenware

Description: This collection of hand-thrown earthenware vessels crafted in collaboration with MA Ceramics, translates my experiences into a deeply personal, tactile autobiography. Utilizing the traditional ceramic technique of sgraffito, line drawings are physically carved through colored slips to expose the raw clay beneath, creating a permanent, material timeline of my life.

The deep cobalt-blue pitcher illustrates the cultural and emotional transitions of moving from my home country, India, to the UK.
Complementing the pitcher, the warm yellow tumblers depict quiet, reflective moments in the UK. By fusing domestic pottery with narrative drawing, these vessels turn personal memory into a three-dimensional archive using autobiographical storytelling that invites haptic touch and intimate physical interaction to evoke warmth, connection and belonging.