"I wanted to develop my own art practice, using the techniques taught by the women in my family," Katki said.
"Storytelling has always been an interest and embroidery just leant itself to that — it’s such a seductive medium. What kept me going with it was perhaps my reverence for those women in my life and the warmth that emanated from them."
Developed over eight months while he was living and working in India, Katki’s work addresses both his personal and cultural identity of Parsi heritage.
His works incorporate Zoroastrian and Indian motifs, but have also borrowed from the notebooks his mother used when learning shorthand.
Embroidered works on handkerchiefs, cotton, bags, money pouches and dust cloths are among the pieces in "Bildungsroman", on show in the museum’s H D Skinner annex.
"Fine arts is very conceptual, but I think there is a place for material and materials, to know them and really get your hands dirty," Katki said.
"It can be used as an expressive, but it was also a domestic, women’s domain, and I found it inviting and that is why I have stuck there."
A diverse range of Dunedin residents also found Katki’s work inviting, with organisers having to scramble for extra chairs after more people than expected attended an embroidery workshop taken by the artist on Saturday.
"This show has meant that I have got to talk about both my identity and my work," Katki said.
"But most importantly it addresses the provenance and the genesis of both, getting to know yourself, your medium, and being allowed to tell that story after being given the luxury of time, space and resources."
