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, Wild Syah Rose petals, and Black Goji Berries—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.