Fragile Ceramics

Born in Delhi in 1997, Dasa Kavi is a ceramic artist whose work interrogates the fragile yet enduring legacies of colonial aesthetics within modern South Asian material culture. Drawing on her background in porcelain sculpture and pottery, Kavi explores the tension between delicacy and violence inherent in the decorative arts introduced during British rule. Her practice is heavily influenced by old English crockery design—ornate floral patterns, blue-and-white motifs, and gilded embellishments—recontextualised into contemporary forms such as her renowned porcelain sneaker sculptures.

Through her art, Kavi critiques the insidious ways colonial decoration infiltrated upper-class Indian homes, not merely as aesthetic influence but as a tool of political subjugation, softening resistance and reshaping cultural aspiration. Her research extends across South and Southeast Asia, tracing parallel patterns in Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and Japan, revealing how decorative indoctrination often accompanied economic and political domination.

Known for her provocative performance installations, Kavi often infiltrates her own exhibitions dressed as a colonial British soldier, ceremonially destroying her creations in acts of deliberate rupture. This gesture embodies her belief that the ongoing tyranny of empire persists through unexamined aesthetic heritage. Her work invites audiences to reflect on what beauty conceals—and what liberation requires us to break.