• Kavin is a self-taught sculptor experimenting with stone-dyeing
• His objects reflect his interest in architecture and space design
• He is the director of the world’s first indigo museum

Kavin Mehta first encountered natural indigo while working on his material research thesis as a student of industrial design at the University of Hertfordshire. “The dyeing process is like alchemy, a little bit of science and a little bit of art,” he says. “It immediately spoke to me but I had no roots in textile, so I began to explore what the dye could do beyond cloth.” Kavin found his answer after setting up his studio in an old mining outpost on the edge of Ahmedabad in 2015. Surrounded by discarded blocks of stone, he slowly taught himself to carve. Today, he works mainly with limestone and calcium-rich marble. He shapes each stone by hand, then dyes it through repeated immersion in natural indigo vats. The colour takes 10 to 15 days to emerge. Alongside his private practice, Kavin is Museum Director of the Indigo Art Museum. It is the world’s first museum devoted entirely to indigo.