Recently, Garima Gupta has been researching medicinal plants that feature in Ayurvedic, Yunani, and Tibetan medicine, but grow exclusively in the trans-Himalayan belt and are traded heavily across borders. She is curious about the deep time movement of matter that continues to shape these vast mountains, as well as the elemental consciousness flowing through these plants. What captivates her most is the routing of elements in the form of healing—from the land to the plants and ultimately to our animal bodies.

The work exhibited at India Art Fair is a collage created with pastel and charcoal strokes, based on a specimen of Bergenia ciliata from the archives of the Harvard Herbaria. This specimen was originally collected from Nepal in the 1950s.