I use sari border design, colours of pigments, and thread, which are all used in ceremonial and religious events, as symbolic representations of the Indian subcontinent combined with decorative elements of western textile craft. By introducing unravelling of the thread, the bleeding of design, the tear in the textile that becomes the decorative element and gradual abstraction of textile design, I convey the transformation of the traditional culture of the Indian subcontinent.
— Varuni Kanagasundaram

PhD candidate Varuni Kanagasundaram is one of the artists participating in the group exhibition Objects of Love at Craft Victoria (March–July).

The works reflect on the parallel transformation of migration and translation of textiles of the Indian subcontinent in clay. The written article titled ‘The nine-yard sari: Bolts of love in clay’ included in the 18th issue of Garland Magazine March 2020 and the panel discussion at the Uphaar: Objects of Love Symposium (RMIT, 14 March) gave opportunity to elaborate on the creative practice and the artworks that were part of the exhibition Objects of Love.

Varuni was fortunate to have been selected to be part of the NCECA Annual Exhibition The Burdens of History in Richmond, Virginia, United States (1–31 March) to show the artwork Something happened here_Journey of 1000 Chai cups.  The installation arose from the public art project for the MoreArt festival with Moreland City Council. A description on a collaborative project with painter, Kate Beynon, for the Ceramix Exhibition at Manly Gallery in Sydney in May 2021, has been included in the current issue of The Journal of Australian Ceramics, April 2020 Vol 59 (1) where they discuss the artworks that are being developed and their collaboration.

Objects of Love, exhibition catalogue, PDF download