The Open Studio / Krishna Ganapati
Krishna Ganapati
Six realms of plastic
Who turns the wheel that cuts the land?
A saw blade stands on a three-legged stool.
Six windows of grey and white, cut like slices from one round loaf.
A turtle. A cactus. A box printed all over with a brand.
The teeth of the wheel are the dark red of wet earth.
The handle waits for any hand.
String pulls the canvas tight to bamboo, as if the land itself is tied down.
The work
Krishna Ganapati grew up in Mavinkurva, near Honnavar, among farmland, coconut plantations, laterite soil, the sea and the backwaters. Ganapati has watched that land change. Here a saw blade sits on a crank above a small three-legged stool. Its six parts hold six scenes. A cactus stands in fenced desert. A turtle swims near the shore. A stepped mound rises from the sand. Kaavi powder, gouache, charcoal, glue and emulsion build the surface on canvas. Ganapati studies at the SN School of Arts and Communication, University of Hyderabad.
- Theme
- Land as commodity
- Material
- Kaavi powder, gouache, charcoal, synthetic glue and emulsion on canvas
- Size
- 162 × 124 cm
- Year
- 2025
- Edition
- 1
- Framed
- Yes
- About the artist
- SN School of arts and communication, University of Hyderabad
- From
- Hyderabad
- Code
- RC-421
In the artist’s words
My practice explores how landscapes are changed through human interventions, and how land slowly becomes a commodity through extraction, construction, and different kinds of development. I come from Mavinkurva, near Honnavar, where I grew up around agricultural land, coconut plantations, laterite soil, the sea, and the backwaters. So I have seen how these landscapes are changing around me. In my current project, LAYER BY LAYER, I am looking at the marks we leave on the land and how the land itself changes through these activities. I use materials like laterite stone powder, ash, charcoal, jute, lime powder, and found materials. I am interested in working with materials that have some…
