Roshni Kavate

Participant

Roshni Kavate is an artist, palliative care nurse and archivist whose practice is rooted in ancestral mark-making and the exploration of the liminal space between us, the elements and the imprints of the bodies we inhabit. Roshni Kavate comes from a lineage of South Indian artisans who survived colonial incursions by hand weaving plant-dyed silk textiles. Roshni’s practice weaves together visceral, sensory interpretations of memory, place and home through a variety of mediums including textiles, sound sculptures, storytelling and participatory community performances. Most recently, Roshni has been exploring culinary storytelling, pleasure and grief as seeds for connecting to corporeal archives, reimagining diasporic journeys and sculpting ephemeral ancestral cosmos that serve as altars for a post-colonial future. Roshni is inspired by the profound memories and longings that people share at the end of their lives. In a world of digital transience, Roshni delights in the repetitive movement of the hand, stamping, stirring, staining, sealing, marking and sounding to engage in a radical exploration of the body as a limitless constellation. Roshni is a founding member of the Mango + Okra collective alongside Agnes Essonti and Lizette Nin. Recent residencies include Tangent Projects, Barcelona and Kala Printmaking Residency in Berkeley, California.