Naima Omar Khan’s artistic practice explores the fragmented history of her enslaved heritage by drawing on her mixed-race community's oral histories and traditions to articulate a narrative that demonstrates the resilience of her forefathers and mothers to survive and build a cohesive society and thriving community bonded together through shared adversity and challenges.  

She reflects on the cultural symbolisms and practices of her African, Asian, and European roots to weave a metaphorical journey demonstrating the existential presence of her lineage in the absence of documented historical records. 

Naima Omar Khan was born and raised during South Africa’s tumultuous Apartheid era in the 1970s and 1980s. The Apartheid government racially classified her as a mixed-race female (Coloured) as she stems from a diverse heritage. Her ancestors were trafficked and enslaved people from both the East, such as Indonesia and India but also from African countries, namely Madagascar and Ghana, then shipped to South Africa by various European colonialists between the mid-17th century to the mid-19th century.

 Her ancestry is rooted in her genetic makeup but channelled through her artistic practice and performances as she pays homage to their history. Through her art, she acknowledges their historical role and firmly believes in doing so; she posthumously restores the dignity of these perished souls who died in ignominy.