By Mary Holland
Natasha “Princess Pea” Preenja
Gurugram, India
It was only in the past few years that Natasha Preenja, who also creates her art under the pseudonym Princess Pea, revealed her identity. The artist was widely known for wearing large headpieces—bulbous orbs with smaller spheres clustered as faux ears on either side. The physical obfuscation was an act of self-expression—and self-preservation. “To avoid the male gaze made me more comfortable,” she says. “I didn’t have to bother about how I looked. I could escape.”
Revealing her identity had advantages though—namely, in allowing her to draw attention to India’s artisan communities. “It was important for me to step out. Somebody has to represent the community of people I am working with,” she says. Having grown up visiting different parts of the country, Preenja was exposed to craftspeople from a young age. “I saw all these techniques when I traveled with my parents.” These influences are now translated into her meditative pieces featuring woodblock printing and marble. She also works with women who shape wooden toys, transforming the toys into polished figurines.
One of the highlights of her work with artisans is the act of learning long-held techniques while also discovering new ones. Recently, she has started working with marble and stone, as well as embroidery. “We have so much craft to work with in this country,” she says. While she is determined to keep these crafts alive, she is not alone. Institutions such as the Chanakya School of Craft launched the Swali Craft Prize last year. “The younger generation is taking it forward.”
Vanessa Barragão
Algarve, Portugal
Before launching her textile studio in 2014, Vanessa Barragão studied fashion design and found an appreciation for fabrics—if not a true calling. “Fashion was not connected with my values,” the artist says. “I always loved creating things with fabrics and yarns—I like the handmade process.”
Barragão, who moved from Porto back to her home of Algarve in 2020, works with leftover fabrics sourced from factories around Europe. Her most celebrated pieces are tapestries, which draw inspiration from her surroundings: the ocean and the countryside. Being based in the south of Portugal, with its endless sunny days, also inspires and supports her practice. “I always need natural light to see the proper colors,” she says. They also carry powerful messages. “We have a bleached coral collection [with] artworks all in white that shows what’s happening with the coral reefs.”
Next, Barragão is exploring materials such as plastic to rethink how the studio “can manipulate it and use our techniques.” Working with this medium also allows her to push her studio’s mission even further: “We have so much waste in the world,” she says. To work with it, “we just need to use our creativity.”
Remy Faint
Sydney, Australia
Born in Sydney and of fourth‑generation Chinese heritage, Remy Faint has developed a deep fascination with Australia’s diverse cultural influences. “Most people don’t really associate early settlers as being from China,” he says. Through an expansive range of mediums—including photography, painting, collage, sculpture, and assemblage—the artist integrates family heirlooms and museum collections to explore and connect with his heritage. “A lot of these objects were handmade by [my great-great-grandmother],” says Faint, whose family came from a long line of silkworm farmers.
While his pieces are deeply personal, their collaged and layered references also speak to how Australia has evolved as a country. “[It] exemplifies a multicultural kind of progressive society,” he says. Now, with his first exhibition outside of Australia, in Paris, more people will be able to experience his work. It’s further proof that Faint is turning personal history into a bold cultural conversation beyond borders.
Porky Hefer
South Africa and France
Porky Hefer has been drawn to animals since he was a child. “I think I prefer animals to humans,” jokes the artist, who spent much of his youth on farms and in the African bush. As an artist, he has become known for his oversized nest structures—so large a person can fit inside—and giant, curious creatures that dwarf a grown adult, made from materials such as leather and wood. “People look at big things more—you get that giggly kind of feeling,” Hefer says, adding that his pieces awaken a childlike sense of wonder. “When something is big, you don’t feel like you are superior.”
The animals also carry powerful messages about our relationship with the natural world. For his exhibition, No Bats No Chocolate, he aimed to explain the impact of species loss through relatable facts that would resonate with all ages. The idea was straightforward: Without bats, there will be no cacao, and without cacao, there will be no candy bars; therefore, let’s protect bats.
Though he continues to produce work in his native South Africa, Hefer is currently living in the south of France, exploring new processes—and new animals. Europe might not have crocodiles and great white sharks, but there are plenty of big creatures to explore, such as bears, which were the subject of a recent commission in Gstaad, Switzerland.
Karen Navarro
Texas, United States
“When I moved to the United States, I was always trying to understand my own identity,” says Karen Navarro, a Houston-based, Argentine-born artist. “One of the first things they ask you [when arriving] is to fill out what race you are. That brought up a lot of questions.” Navarro has since explored themes of migration, identity, and race through portraiture and fragmentation. By blending photography and sculptural elements, she discusses personal and historic narratives. “I was interested in portraiture because I am [curious about] the history of photography—how different identities have been represented.”
Navarro’s recent projects include an interactive public art installation at Discovery Green and a residency at PAC Art in 2025 and early 2026, where she showcased work in her new home city. “A lot of how we see and judge others is based on what we have learned,” she says. “Everything is about perspective.”
