Biography

Varsha is a researcher and visual artist based in Liverpool. Born in India and living in England for over two decades, her practice bridges place, memory and material. Her research centres on postcolonial critiques of new materialism with a particular focus on alternative sensibilities toward the contemporary ecological crisis. She explores material dialogues as pathways for reconnecting with nature, drawing on both artistic practice and theoretical inquiry.

Working with natural pigments, she explores sustainable art processes and the active role of materials in shaping artistic outcomes. Drawing on traditional techniques such as Dabu resist printmaking, she combines hands-on learning with studio experimentation to develop environmentally conscious approaches to contemporary art-making.

Her work reflects a cross-cultural dialogue rooted in ecological awareness and material sensitivity.

Her academic and artistic contributions have been recognized through several distinguished awards, including the Josephine Butler Award, the HMP2Hope Summer Scholarship, and the Professor E. Rex Makin Award for Community Work (2022). In 2023, she received the Liverpool Hope Carter Preston Foundation Award, the Zari Gallery Award (London), the Cass Art Award, and a TATE Liverpool Commission. Additionally, she has been awarded the HOPE Graduate Bursary and Postgraduate Scholarship (2023).

Her work has been exhibited in prominent galleries and institutions, including the Bridewell Studio, Liverpool (2024), Atkinson Art Gallery show, Southport, (2026, 2024), Wayfarer's Exhibition, Southport (2023), Art for social change exhibition, Cornerstone Gallery, Liverpool (2023), Breaking Through Borders, Liverpool Hope University (2022), Dot Art Gallery, Group Show Liverpool (2022), Chapel Art gallery, Ormskirk, (2021).