Talks
Botanicals and the Book: A Look Inside the Paper Gardens Catalogue
Varun Nayar and Tania Singh Khosla
Didymocarpus evalifolia; Plate 1351, Icones Plantarum Indiae Orientalis, or Figures of Indian Plants, Volume IV; Author: Robert Wight; Artist: Govindoo; Lithographer: J. Dumphy; Lithograph; 1850.
Courtesy Museum of Art & Photography (MAP), Bengaluru.
Developed alongside the exhibition of the same name, the Paper Gardens catalogue brings together over a hundred botanical illustrations from the 17th to the 20th centuries, tracing encounters between plants, artists, and institutions across continents and styles. Featuring essays by art historian Dr Holly Shaffer, botanist Dr Henry J. Noltie, and writer Sumana Roy, the book approaches botanical drawings as living documents.
Varun Nayar, Director of Impart and co-editor of the book, will be in conversation with the book’s designer, Tania Singh Khosla, to discuss the possibilities and challenges of working with botanical illustrations in book form.
Referencing her vast expertise with publication design — including past catalogues for MAP — Khosla will delve into the mechanics of working with such artworks; discuss the narrative and aesthetic choices that informed her approach; and reflect on how the book’s structure expands on the themes of the exhibition.
The exhibition, ‘Paper Gardens’, marks the continuation of a sustained, years-long collaboration between MAP and Impart — an online platform fostering greater public engagement with the art and cultural histories of South Asia.
Bookings
Varun Nayar
Varun Nayar is a writer, editor, and the Director of Impart (formerly MAP Academy), where he was also part of the founding team. He has a background in journalism and art publishing, with a particular interest in the global histories of photography. His work has appeared in Aperture, ArtReview, FOAM, Words Without Borders, Himal Southasian, and National Geographic, among other publications and catalogues.
Tania Singh Khosla
Tania Singh Khosla is the Founder and Creative Director of the award-winning branding and graphic design firm TSK Design, established in 1996. For three decades, she has led the studio in creating design solutions across print, book and publication design, packaging, digital and environmental graphics for institutions and brands.
With a BA from Mount Holyoke College and an MFA from Yale University, her work balances Indian and global aesthetics, traditional and contemporary influences, and the digital and the handmade.
