Daksha is a UK based artist whose practice engages with scientific research. Her commissions and residencies within scientific institutions regularly examine themes of ecology, bio-diversity, climate change and pollution. She works across a variety of media including experimental film, installation, textiles, ceramics and print. Her methods, materials and processes evolve out of her subject matter, and she is increasingly using new digital technologies such as Lidar scanning and creative coding to produce artworks.
Daksha’s recent projects include a commission for Lancaster University’s Environmental Modelling researchers, for whom she produced a film ‘Modelling Morecambe Bay’ (2021), which responds to ideas of place/locality and the epistemic uncertainties of modelling systems. She has collaborated with geologists at the University of Durham to produce ‘The Fossilised Sea’ (2021) for the Lumiere Light Festival: an outdoor night-time projection exploring geological deep time and the traces of the distant past which are embedded in the present day.
A new film ‘In Pericula: At Risk’ (2022) explores bio-diversity and the inter-connections between human and non-human life. Filmed in the Life Science Museum, King’s College, London, it features a performer wearing a hybrid costume created from prints of objects preserved in the collections. The soundtrack is of children reciting the names of species on the red list.
Daksha is currently working on some ceramic pieces responding to themes of food insecurity for the British Art Show Manchester. She exhibits nationally and internationally and her work is in public and private collections. She received the Brian Cox Prize for Excellence in Public Engagement with Research in 2020.
Find out more about Daksha’s work at: www.dakshapatel.co.uk
Twitter: @Daksha9Patel
Insta: @dakshaart
A Blog post from Daksha: Food Crops, Sustainability and GM.
A commission for Lancaster University responding to their Environmental Modelling research.
A commission for The Lumiere Festival, Durham, responding to the University of Durham’s Geology research.
Developed following a residency at Kings College, London, a still image from the film features a performer wearing a costume made from prints of objects such as bones and corals from collections.
A commission for The Horniman Museum, London, responding to water pollution in South Asia. A traditional water-carrying pot is decorated with images of pathogens and chemical pollutants.