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@kai.velai

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eelam tamil based in tiohtià:ke
கைவேலை (kai velai) = handicraft

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boxers on boxers on boxers, 2026

10x12.5” lithograph on somerset velvet

thinking of colouring her in soon🫢

#lithograph #lithography #lithostone by @kai.velai

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14 days ago

untitled, 2026

8x12” lithograph on somerset velvet

An exploration of surveillance, cultural identity, and the high standards that I have set for myself.

#lithograph #lithography #lithostone by @kai.velai

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6 months ago

at rest, 2026

For my final project for my paper making class I worked around the theme of returning to what is intuitive to the individual, which brought out themes of ancestry and identity. I’ve been thinking about returning to my roots, an intuitive pull toward what’s right for me, the sense that what’s meant to be leaves no room for choice.

I created a huge 7x4 ft abaca sheet of paper, by using laser cut stencils with patterns and text to pulp spray into. Adding the text “kai velai” meaning handicraft in Tamil, a word I hold close to my heart as kai velai is a word that my grandfather uses to explain my work, he tells me that it’s work that no one else can do and replicate. The swan was made with 100% cotton fabric, filled with polyfill, wire for structure, and pinned with abaca paper feathers. The swan is grounded within the textile, a reflection of me finally being at rest and letting my intuition take control, and is also in relation to being guided by the divine.

The biggest thank you to my project assist and friend @in.de.art 🫶🏾

#papermaking #art by @kai.velai

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6 months ago

laser cut stencils for pulp spraying by @kai.velai

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6 months ago

karthigaipoo, 2026

pigmented recycled paper pulp used to make blowouts of the karthigaipoo/gloriosa! A select few of the variations of blowout I had created.

Through the theme Lost and Found, I’ve been thinking about returning to my roots, an intuitive pull toward what’s right for me, the sense that what’s meant to be leaves no room for choice. One of the ideas that has sparked in my mind was going back to the motherland: Tamil Eelam. I yearn to be in Tamil Eelam, the proposed independent state, sought by many Tamils and their diaspora, after the Government of Sri Lanka had committed mass genocide of the Sri Lankan Tamil people. Though I was born and raised in Toronto, through the very few visits to the homeland, I have come to crave being around my community and my ancestral land. It is as if my body does not feel at rest living in a Western space; constantly moving as if I am on a treadmill. Even my appa (father), after having to leave Sri Lanka due to the anti-Tamil pogroms that the government had orchestrated since 1954; he tells me of the slow pace of life in Sri Lanka, despite the devastation, despite the genocide; he remembers a pace of life that allowed breath, that allowed presence. His stories are not naive; they carry loss.
Through this feeling of loss, I was reminded of the Karthigaipoo (Gloriosa superba), which is the national flower of Tamil Eelam; it symbolizes sacrifice and resilience. The flower is known to bloom in a vibrant red and yellow, as if it’s a flame of resistance. I would like to imagine that this flame of resistance is ignited within other Tamils, and I. Through loss, we did not disappear; we transformed, and our mourning became resistance. As a result, for the FBR 392 Paper Archives Project within the theme of Lost and Found, I have created a varied edition by using the blowout technique of the Karthigaipoo. by @kai.velai

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8 months ago

untitled, 2026

For PRIN 221, varied editions of 2 layers, done with exposed litho plates on ivory kozo

Currently exploring the feeling of wanting to return back to the motherland. The photo was taken by Premadas Sivasubramaniam (appa) in 2011 on our trip to Sri Lanka.

#lithography by @kai.velai

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8 months ago

drape my melanin, 2023

Woodcut: 5 Layer Reduction Print done on Kozo, Nepal Paper, and Cotton Dyed with Sindoor by @kai.velai

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10 months ago

felted bag charms w/ merino and mulberry silk, heavily inspired by floral shapes and traditional patterns from south asian textiles

$45 each by @kai.velai

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a year ago

a collection of drawings from summer to now by @kai.velai

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a year ago

untitled, 8” x 9.75” in ballpoint pen on mixed media by @kai.velai

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2 years ago

cotton shibori sample that is soy mordanted and dyed with indigo by @kai.velai

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3 years ago

suminagashi samples on japanese paper by @kai.velai

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3 years ago