Nature as a whimsical, seasonal co-creator

Emerging artist Anuja Dasgupta speaks about her process of making 'cameraless photography' and Ladakh being central to her visual story

- Somak Ghoshal

Anuja Dasgupta, 28, was born in Patna, but has spent the last few years immersed in Ladakh, far from the madding crowd, perfecting an art form she calls "anthotypes". Leaves, flowers, fruits, berries, air, water, sunlight, birds and animals are the raw materials of her work and active collaborators, too. Dasgupta describes the outcome of these adventures as "cameraless photography", where each piece emerges as a thing of beauty, born on the cusp of uncertainty, entirely subject to the whims of nature and the elements.

Underneath the delicate dance of colours in these abstract forms, there is an engaged political sensibility. Dasgupta's dialogue with colonial depictions of Ladakh, especially with the work of archaeologist Alexander Cunningham, has led to a set of profoundly meaningful photo-books. Despite being a self-taught photographer, she has won awards and fellowships, including the Portrait Prize at the Indian Photo Festival (2017), the Prince Claus Seed Award (2021) and a Pro Helvetia residency (2024).

In an email interview, Dasgupta spoke about her evolution as "an accidental artist", finding new ways of innovation and discovery, and carving her niche in the creative ecosystem. Edited excerpts.

What drew you to Ladakh as the starting point for your work?

Some of my fondest memories are from a family trip to Ladakh in 2011, which was my first photographic expedition as we had just bought a Canon compact camera. My move to Ladakh happened because of my independent coursework on Archival Explorations during my MA in 2018. I started reading Alexander Cunningham's Ladakh: Physical, Statistical, and Historical (1854), one of the most revered historical archives on the region, in tandem with my personal archives from 2011.