Dave Nidhi Hemant

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Nidhi Dave (b. 2002) is an interdisciplinary art practitioner and writer. Indian-born and raised in Dubai, her works tackles issues of diaspora and intersectionality that come with identity. She sees the potential in ceramics for contemporary narratives but she also dabbles with performative/collaborative work to aid in making both meaningful connections and bodies of work. Her conceptual preoccupations are fuelled by her curiosity of land politics, using the medium of ceramics as a way to speak on the human body, migration, trauma and femininity. She is a recipient of the Liu Shiming Merit Award and most recently has exhibited her ceramic works at the Ngee Ann Kongsi Gallery, Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, Singapore and as part of a residency exhibition in ARTS ITOYA, Saga, Japan.

Nidhi Dave works across various mediums in an attempt to create dialogue between the body now, its past and it's eventual future. Intrigued by the blurring lines between art making and the mundane, her works explore themes of childhood, nostalgia, existentialism and the human condition.

Subsequently she seeks to highlight the nuances between one's culture, social standing, economic background to understand how that shapes the now. Her collaborative works exist as an attempt at resolving issues of existentialism, identity and yearning by staging an abstract interrogation to her audience, through her physical works. Recently, her works seek to reimagine the white space of the gallery as a space of intervention and interogation towards an audience.

Title: Turbulent Transience
Year: 2026
Medium: Plastic, Industrial steel, Rubber, Wood and Felt
Statement:

How many [lorry] accidents come to the attention of civilised people in this society? Living in luxurious condominiums, drowned by the roar of a game between Arsenal and Barcelona, the sound of a lorry crash may not reach their ears. They are busy matching their [olive necklaces to their aquamarine dress]. They are busy tasting [expensive food] or [watching new blockbusters].
Well, don't the rich in their brand-new cars see [us] in lorries when they stop at the same signal? Can't they come forward to stop the use of lorries to transport humans? Shouldn't they draw the attention of the government to ensure basic safety for migrant workers? Of course, you can.
-'Unsafe Lorry(II)' by MD Sharif Uddin in Stranger to My World, 2021