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Design09 mins. read
India Art Fair returns for its 15th edition in 2024 with a new Design section
by Mrinmayee BhootJan 25, 2024
Shaped deep within the Earth over billions of years, diamonds circulate through contemporary systems of extraction, value and exchange. These layered stories surfaced in Voyage Through the Diamond Realm, an immersive installation by De Beers, placing natural diamonds within the registers of art, material culture, touch and time at India Art Fair 2026.
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With the immersive installation, De Beers wanted to highlight nature as the true artist Image: Courtesy of De Beers -
The showcase at India Art Fair 2026 wove together art, geology and storytelling Image: Courtesy of De Beers
The installation, featuring textile and visual artist Lakshmi Madhavan, proposed a slower encounter with diamonds, presenting their mythical and geological origins as well as accumulated meanings. This materialised through an intervention of kasavu—Kerala’s traditional gold-bordered handwoven cotton/silk textile. “Kasavu is a disciplined material,” the Indian artist noted. “It carries generations of decisions made by hand—how much to hold back, how much to reveal.”
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Shweta Harit, global senior vice president, De Beers Group and CEO, Forevermark Image: Courtesy of De Beers -
Lakshmi Madhavan, contemporary textile and visual artist Image: Courtesy of De Beers
Art offers a powerful lens through which material, heritage and meaning can be expressed. – Shweta Harit, global senior vice president, De Beers Group and CEO, Forevermark
In front of this kasavu backdrop stood a diamond-shaped frame holding handmade, threaded ostrich eggshell beads, among the earliest forms of human ornamentation. These converged toward a metallic snake motif studded with unpolished diamonds, which remained deliberately unresolved.
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The narrative brought together natural diamonds, the symbolism of Kasavu and some of the earliest human-made ornaments Image: Courtesy of De Beers -
The materials employed in the installation reflected on shared themes of time, continuity, craftsmanship and transformation Image: Courtesy of De Beers -
The artist worked alongside De Beers to anchor the Indian art connection to the rarity of natural diamonds by introducing Kerala’s Kasavu handwoven textile, along with handmade, ostrich eggshell beads Image: Courtesy of De Beers -
Voyage through the Diamond Realm by De Beers (details) Image: Courtesy of De Beers
In contrast, the facade of the showcase also displayed rare natural-coloured diamonds—Pink, Orange, Light Blue and the rare Chameleon diamond, known for its remarkable ability to temporarily change colour to yellow when gently heated, before returning to its original hue. Displayed as individual expressions of geological artistry, the gems embodied the extraordinary diversity and rarity found in nature.
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The presentation also featured four exceptional natural-coloured diamonds—Pink, Orange, Light Blue and the rare Chameleon diamond Image: Courtesy of De Beers -
Displayed as individual expressions of geological artistry, the gems embodied the extraordinary diversity and rarity found in nature Image: Courtesy of De Beers -
Inside, an emotive film explored the journey of natural diamonds, from their cosmic origins and geological formation to their modern cultural meanings Image: Courtesy of De Beers
Both of these materials are activated in conjunction with the body. It is due to this intimacy, through touch, ritual and care, that they really get their meaning. Here, these two in dialogue expressed how they carry this deep sense of time. – Lakshmi Madhavan, contemporary textile and visual artist
Shweta Harit, global senior vice president, De Beers Group and CEO, Forevermark, reflected, “Diamonds are cultural artefacts that inspire artistic dialogue, and that feels deeply relevant to India.” For Harit, this underscored a shared attentiveness to time and making. “This brings together two worlds of creation,” she said. “One formed deep within the earth, the other shaped by generations of human hands. Art offers a powerful lens through which material, heritage and meaning can be expressed.”
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In attendance were renowned names from across the industries of film, art, design and culture, including actor Khushi Kapoor (L) and producer and fashion entrepreneur Rhea Kapoor (R) Image: Courtesy of De Beers -
(L – R) Jaya Asokan, fair director, and Umah Jacob, director of external relations & outreach, India Art Fair, wearing jewellery designs by De Beers Image: Courtesy of De Beers
Voyage Through the Diamond Realm offered a setting to discuss the relationship between cultural dialogue and responsible luxury by placing real diamonds within a broader creative narrative, where nature itself is the ultimate artist. In doing so, it presented them as enduring works of nature shaped by time, refined by craftsmanship and elevated by human skill and imagination.
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