Softened by Hands" draws inspiration from Rajasthani kavad and jali traditions. The artwork reimagines the screen as both a furniture piece and a narrative device, carrying the layered histories of making while honouring the communities who continue to practise in shifting circumstances.

The object holds the stories of place, people, and the resilience of craft. It reflects how craft traditions endure and adapt in the face of industrialisation. Featuring commercial residual wood offcuts reassembled into new forms, the installation demonstrates how industry by-products can be reactivated through craft. Interwoven jute panels and detailed carved motifs serve to soften the industrial fragments while carrying forward the intricacy of traditional techniques.

Made collaboratively with Jodhpur’s artisans the artwork celebrates the voices and persistence of those who sustain cultural memory through their skill and labour. For Zavier, the act of making itself becomes a means of fostering connection—building warmth, intimacy, and community.