auster

Treasure Hunt is a surreal exploration of the strange and beautiful things we discover when we look a little closer. A dreamlike figure sits within a world of vibrant flowers, fluid forms and unexpected colours, creating a composition that feels both playful and otherworldly. The layered use of gouache and colour pencil gives the work a tactile, hand-drawn quality, balancing bold colour with intricate details.

Dew Drops is a sculptural ceramic vase inspired by the fluidity of natural forms. Its rounded, flowing body is punctuated by organic shapes and subtle protrusions, creating the feeling of something grown rather than made. The Raku-fired finish adds depth and variation to the surface, allowing the piece to shift between earthy, metallic and iridescent tones.

Garden Bouquet imagines a garden where flowers, organic forms and strange little creatures exist in a world of their own. Rich earthy tones are contrasted with bursts of vivid pink, blue, yellow and red, creating a composition that feels whimsical and slightly surreal. Built through expressive gouache and colour pencil, the artwork celebrates the unruly beauty and unexpected forms found in nature.

Prickly transforms the familiar form of a vase into something wild and almost otherworldly. Its irregular silhouette is covered in sharp, organic protrusions, while the Raku firing creates a richly textured surface with deep, shifting tones. Equal parts functional object and sculptural piece, Prickly brings an unexpected edge to the traditional idea of a decorative vase.

Thorned Beauty explores the contrast between delicacy and defence. The sculptural ceramic form is intentionally raw and organic, its thorn-covered body holding a delicate arrangement of flowers at its centre. The contrast between the fragile blooms and the rugged, protective exterior gives the piece its character—beautiful, strange and unapologetically imperfect. The Raku-fired finish further enhances its earthy, tactile quality.

Created as part of the JOY exhibition in New Delhi, these limited-edition canvas totes bring the exhibition’s playful visual language into everyday life. Featuring the distinctive JOY graphic in bold, vibrant colours, the totes turn a simple everyday essential into a wearable piece of the exhibition. Designed to be practical, reusable, and easy to carry, they are made for everything from gallery visits and coffee runs to books, groceries, and daily essentials.

Created as part of the JOY exhibition in New Delhi, these limited-edition canvas totes bring the exhibition’s playful visual language into everyday life. Featuring the distinctive JOY graphic in bold, vibrant colours, the totes turn a simple everyday essential into a wearable piece of the exhibition. Designed to be practical, reusable, and easy to carry, they are made for everything from gallery visits and coffee runs to books, groceries, and daily essentials.

The Ungrateful Reptile & The Flaky Butterfly is a self-portrait of Akshara and Prakruthi as they see themselves in 2026. Two unlikely characters, hanging out together and moving through the world with curiosity, wonder and a little bit of chaos. Made from a playful mix of discarded and repurposed materials, the work reflects their shared fascination with everything around them—figuring things out as they go, enjoying the strange, ordinary and unexpected moments along the way.

bloomscrolling amongst the weeds turns its attention to the overlooked flora that grows beyond the cultivated garden. A series of close-up botanical photographs traces the varied shapes, colours, and fleeting beauty of wild growth, while hand embroidery introduces an additional layer of movement and tactility. Suspended from teak wood, the work recalls a traditional scroll while reimagining it as a contemporary record of everyday botanical encounters. It is a celebration of the beauty that persists without cultivation, care, or permission.

River Beneath The River I & II is a sculptural exploration of water, movement and the spaces that exist beneath the surface. The two suspended forms mirror and complement one another, combining geometric structures with elongated, flowing elements that evoke the movement of a river. Made from paper, bamboo and cotton thread, the works balance delicacy and structure, creating an almost weightless presence that shifts with light and shadow.

bloomscrolling in the veggie garden presents a vertical sequence of botanical photographs gathered from the vegetable garden. Arranged like a visual scroll, each image records a different flower or moment of bloom, creating a quiet rhythm of colour, texture, and form. Hand embroidery adds an organic thread through the photographic sequence, while the teak-wood hanging structure and beeswax finish give the work the character of a tactile, handmade object. The piece becomes both a botanical archive and an invitation to slow down and notice what is flowering around us.

Happy / Sad, in your Hand is a playful reflection on the emotional duality we carry with us. Two hand mirrors become vessels for contrasting moods—one happy, one sad—while their imperfect, textured surfaces and scattered crystals add a sense of tenderness and humour to the work. The mirrors invite us to look at ourselves while also questioning what we see. With their little resin teeth appearing almost like smiles, the familiar object becomes something slightly strange and characterful.

Whisper of the Stars presents a fantastical encounter between human-like figures and an otherworldly landscape. Set against an intensely coloured forest and rippling water, the elongated figures appear immersed in a quiet, mysterious exchange with their surroundings. Saturated reds, blues, oranges, and purples create a dreamlike atmosphere, while the expressive forms lend the work a sense of myth and timelessness. The painting invites the viewer into a world where nature, imagination, and the human figure exist in an ambiguous and poetic space.

Portrait of a Lady is a striking contemporary portrait defined by bold colour and stylised form. The figure’s luminous yellow-green complexion contrasts dramatically with deep blue hair and a vivid red garment, creating an arresting visual presence. Intricate, sculptural lines shape the hair and frame the face, giving the portrait an almost fantastical quality. Rather than pursuing conventional realism, the work uses colour, geometry, and expression to create a character that feels both familiar and otherworldly.

Fly on the Wall is a vibrant mixed-media artwork that brings together portraiture, pattern, nature, and intricate hand-work. A richly detailed figure emerges against a kaleidoscopic landscape of peacock-like forms, organic textures, bold checks, and luminous colour. The work combines gouache and oil pastels with delicate brass elements and organic materials, creating a tactile surface that rewards closer looking. Playful yet contemplative, the composition explores the relationship between the human figure and the fantastical world that surrounds it.

The Centre Holds & North Star brings together two sculptural works exploring ideas of balance, direction and connection. Built from paper, bamboo and cotton thread, the works use geometric forms, radiating lines and suspended structures to create a dialogue between tension and stillness. Their vibrant colours and delicate frameworks interact with the surrounding space, while the shadows they cast become an extension of the works themselves.

The microcosmos series explores the quiet intricacies of the natural world through close observation of seemingly ordinary plants and flowers. Each work combines a digital photograph with delicate hand embroidery, allowing the stitched lines to extend, echo, and reinterpret the organic forms within the photographic image. microcosmos I (little ironweed), microcosmos II (radish blossom), and microcosmos III (cat’s ear) draw attention to plants that are often overlooked, whether growing in a garden, amongst other vegetation, or considered weeds. Through the intimate scale of the photographs and the tactile quality of the embroidery, these small botanical encounters are transformed into imagined landscapes or miniature worlds. The series reflects on the beauty found in the unnoticed and ephemeral, inviting the viewer to pause and look closely at the complexity contained within even the most familiar forms of plant life.

Horned Lady depicts a fantastical female figure through an expressive combination of vivid colour, graphic line, and stylised form. The prominent horns and luminous facial features give the character a mythical presence, while the intense palette creates a sense of mystery and energy. Small in scale but visually commanding, the work feels like a glimpse into an imagined world populated by unconventional, dreamlike characters.

Symbiosis brings together a collection of fantastical, organic forms that appear to exist in an interconnected ecosystem. Set against a luminous yellow ground, the unusual creatures and flowing shapes seem to merge and coexist, blurring the boundaries between plant, animal, and imagined life forms. Bold outlines, vivid colours, and playful patterns create a sense of movement and energy within the composition. The work evokes the idea of mutual dependence and coexistence, suggesting a world in which different forms of life are connected and thrive alongside one another.

Earth centres on a monumental, ancient-looking tree whose twisting branches extend across a vivid pink landscape. The tree becomes both a physical presence and a symbolic anchor, with small birds and leaves inhabiting its sprawling form. The incorporation of actual earth into the work introduces a tactile connection between material and subject, grounding the fantastical landscape in the physical world. Through its unusual colours and exaggerated organic forms, Earth evokes ideas of resilience, interconnectedness, and the enduring presence of nature.

In the Early Evening is a tall, atmospheric landscape that captures the transition between daylight and night. A glowing sun or moon hangs over a richly coloured landscape, while twisting vegetation and organic forms create a sense of depth and movement. The narrow vertical format gives the scene the quality of a distant, unfolding world—quiet, mysterious, and slightly surreal. Deep blues, greens, oranges, and reds heighten the feeling of an imagined landscape suspended between reality and dream.