Working through Peel Studio, Yahvi transforms everyday food waste such as banana peels, eggshells and avocado pits into tactile biomaterials and handwoven textiles. Sourced largely from her own kitchen and local cafés, these discarded materials are cleaned, processed and transformed by hand before being incorporated into woven works. Rather than concealing their origins, Yahvi embraces their natural colours, textures and imperfections, inviting viewers to reconsider waste as a material with value, possibility and its own story.

Her practice is informed by traditions of zero-waste living in India and a desire to reconnect contemporary making with nature, resourcefulness and care. Using surplus yarns alongside unconventional biomaterial wefts, Yahvi works intuitively with the behaviour of each material, allowing the process of weaving to create connections between craft and ecology, tradition and innovation. Through this slow and considered approach, her work encourages reflection on our relationship with the resources we consume and what we choose to discard.

Alongside her studio practice, Yahvi has worked with artisans and communities in India, leading skill-development projects focused on natural dyes and sustainable making. Her work with Khwaab, a nonprofit supporting women from low-income communities, included developing sustainable products and introducing natural dye processes to support craft-based livelihoods. As an empanelled Natural Dye Expert with the All India Artisans and Craftworkers Welfare Association (AIACA), her wider practice brings together material knowledge, education and socially engaged approaches to sustainability.

Yahvi holds an MA in Textiles (Colour, Material & Weave) from the Royal College of Art and a Bachelor’s degree in Textile Design from NIFT New Delhi. Selected as one of eight artists from 800 applicants for a residency with Dazed and Mason & Fifth, she has also participated in Study UK Creative Connections II, exhibiting at the British Council in New Delhi. Her work has been shown at Deptford X, Talking Textiles, the Surface Design Show and the Spring Decorative Fair, and has been featured in publications including Dazed, Texintel and Selvedge.