It is the vulnerability of line that we first recognise in Neha Lavingia’s paintings, which speaks for the mastery of her skill for it perfectly portrays the fragility of fallen flowers, wilted leaves, dried stems, shed seed pods and slender twigs that are the artists’ archival matter. Nature, by the artists’ own admission, perfectly mimics her own reticence – it is there, without the need for explanations, large statements or grandiose posturing. Nature simply is, abundant and cyclical and whatever meanings we may lay up it – sublime, romantic, spiritual, ecological – are beacons of humanity’s moods and concerns.

Trained as a painter and printmaker in art schools in Ahmedabad and Vadodara, Lavingia has worked in the mediums of etching, photography, installation and since 2019 with watercolours. Her paintings, akin to botanical observations, are close observations of scavenged vegetal matter from the garden of her ancestral home. As an artist the last two years, which have had great impact on us all, impact that may unfold over several years to come, has seen Lavingia deliberately shedding the vestiges of a narrative subtext to delight in the beauty and simplicity of pure representation. What attracted her to printmaking, the element of surprise that often accompanied the revelation of the final image has given way to detailed, meticulous and careful draughtsmanship. But while Lavingia states her paintings defy narrative readings, she gives them context with their titles “Not from the same tree, but in a same pile” and “Post site inspection, rigorously gathering and building, they abandoned it one day”, titles that indicate perhaps a state of being, rather than a plot or storyline.

Lavingia paints inanimate natural objects but included in this exhibition is her first experiment with video, an ordinary moment of an ant carrying a translucent wing made extraordinary because of the care and attention afforded it when viewed through the lens. It allows for a pause, perhaps a philosophical segue, as we move about this space, and maybe further into the world.

The works included in this exhibition titled Fragrance Always Stays show the artist experimenting with scale for the first time, expanding the patience and resilience required to hold a thought or emotion over a period of time. These delicate paintings, each a stand alone work, are meant to be savoured as moments of stillness and careful regard.

Deeksha Nath