The minimalist beauty of the lateritic landscape of Santiniketan has inspired some of the greatest works of the Bengal school. But that sublime landscape is now being lost to urbanization. Ghana Shyam Latua’s works in Khoai Landscape (an online exhibition organized by Emami Art recently) are both a lament for that loss and a nostalgic recalling of what once was. Surrounded by seemingly white blank spaces — the ever-expanding barrenness brought about by development — the detailed, naturalistic depictions of the
khoai are reminiscent of the documentary drawings of academic draftsmen in the early books of antiquity and archaeology.

On closer look, though, the white blank spaces are not entirely blank, but partly covered with intricate texturing of the khoai created by pricking and peeling off the paper surface with needles and other sharp tools. Chunks of red, lateritic masses open up consequently, like wounds on the surface of memory and land. The apparent simplicity of Latua’s works not only belies his painstaking detailing but also makes the pieces more poignant.