In this conversation, curator and program director of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale Mario D’Souza interviews artist Pranay Dutta in relation to his work presented on TBA21 on st_age Neti, 2022.

Moving through the development of Dutta’s practice, the two discuss his enduring conceptual interests, including the effects of the extractive processes in ecological systems, climate, and conservation, in which the most marginalized communities are the most affected. The conversation travels through the Sundarbans region on which Neti is focused, the research and production process behind the work’s computer generated animation, and the inclusion of supernatural, mystical, and mythological elements that imbue this speculative work with a sense of magic realism. In Dutta’s words, the resulting work evokes a crumbling world of obliterated, future landscapes—a shifting, unpredictable terrain to which the viewer bears witness.

Credit list of the images and videos used in the conversation here.
Access the audio file here.