Nalini Mehta is best known for her internal carving in acrylic, a complex process that combines drawing, sketching, sculpting and 3D visualisation. She carves into the reverse of thick acrylic sheets with a high-speed electric drill, creating images that appear suspended within the material, their volume emerging through subtle gradations in the carving. The technique remains largely Nalini’s own invention, developed after encountering the material during a visit to the USA in 1946. In creating her detailed botanical pieces, she displays an intuitive understanding of how light moves through and around the carved surfaces.