By Anuja Dasgupta
Part of the exhibition
Critical Zones. In Search of a Common Ground.
The virtual landscapes revealed underneath the topsoil of Nubra Valley are anthotypes*, or all-natural, ephemeral, camera-less photographs. Light-sensitive emulsions were made from Sea Buckthorn berries, Ephedra sap, and Wild Syah Rose petals—species native to the valley—and left to be exposed on various river banks. The resultant prints were made jointly by the river drift, sunlight and faunal visits, and are now fading with time.
Ladakh’s fabric of life would not be what it is today without its ~1000 species of flora. They thrive in environments where most life forms struggle to survive, with temperature variations between -40°C to (now) nearly 40°C. These plants hold immense ethnobotanical value in terms of usage in traditional (Amchi) medicine, cuisine and aesthetics, and they secure the local food chain. But with warmer temperatures and receding glaciers, the natural habitat of Ladakh’s flora is rapidly diminishing. At the same time, they continue to remain absent from discourses on the region’s ecology.
Against the Grain draws viewers to interact with the land and unveil these often-forgotten plants that breathe life into it, but face a dire threat to their survival. Reimagining botanical imagery through anthotypes, it also attempts to question the medium of the photograph as an object, and photography as a practice, especially in an exceptionally photographed region like Ladakh.
* From the long-term series titled
Elemental Whispers (2022–present)
© Anuja Dasgupta
Anuja Dasgupta is a visual artist, educator and entrepreneur based in Ladakh, India. She is the recipient of the TOTO Award for Photography (2023), Prince Claus Seed Award (2021), the Indian Photography Festival–Portrait Prize (2017), and is currently working on a year-long project on the rock art of Ladakh supported by the Chronos Initiative. Her work has been showcased at various platforms, such as LoosenArt, Italy (2022), Ladakh Literature Festival (2019), Kochi-Muziris Students’ Biennale, India (2018), Head On Photo Festival, Australia (2018), Odesa-Batumi Photo Days, Georgia (2017), PhotoVogue, Vogue Italia (2017), Isthmus: Image Dialogues, Massachusetts College of Art and Design (2016), and the Contemporary Arts Week, India (2016). She holds a BA (H) in English Literature and an MA in Visual Art. Anuja was also a Designate Research Fellow as a recipient of the Sahapedia-UNESCO Fellowship in 2017.
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