Tell us a bit about your artistic work, discipline and background.

I am an artist whose practice focuses on pattern and colour, born and raised in Birmingham and now based in Dundee.

I originally trained as a printed textile designer and I worked for several years in the textile industry. After studying at the RCA my practice shifted to exploring different materials to create a series of sculptural furniture pieces. These were made using a range of techniques including screen printing, lacquering and laser etching. My work combines drawing, screen printing and rudimentary printing techniques to createunexpected collages of pattern. More recently I have begun to work with metal and vitreous enamels, exploring the underlying connotations of these materials. I often look at historic patterns and techniques. My practice moves between the worlds of craft, design and art often culminating in objects.

Why did you apply for the 20/20 project?

I have recently returned to my practice after being the main carer to my three children and I applied for the 20/20 project to give me the time to develop a practice that considers the political in pattern design alongside in depth research. I am interested in how the decorative arts and craft have been copied and appropriatedparticularly in relation to Indian textile design. All of this relates to my own South Asian heritage and understanding this in relation to design. This is part of a wider personal and professional reclamation and interrogation of identity. 20/20 also provides me with an opportunity to make these patterns and the issues surrounding their collection and collation more boldly visible.

What conversations, thoughts or feelings do you hope to encourage amongst your audiences during your residency? 

I want to discuss ideas of appropriation, ownership and hybridity within the context of pattern design. I will be specifically looking at The Forbes Watson Volumes of Indian Textiles, which are in themselves an extensive collage of patterns. The issues surrounding these volumes are complex as not only are they intertwined with the strands already mentioned but they are also enmeshed in slavery, extraction, global trade and industry. I want to open up conversations about how design was/ is colonised and unravel what relevance these ideas still have for us today. I also hope to encourage thoughts about how these patterns can be reclaimed and a new outcome created.