Desert and Grasslands
In 2019 Kate was invited to visit Mehrangarh Fort Rao Jodha desert Park, to learn about the process of removing invasive Prosopis juliflora trees and the rewilding with native trees and Flora by Pradip Krishen. Pradip is a renowned Indian Filmaker, naturalist and environmentalist, who rewilded the vast area around Mehrangarh Fort, Jodhpur, Rajasthan.
Dreaming of Rao Jodha Desert Park is made in response to Kate’s memories of her time there, whilst she was confined to her home in Delhi during Lockdown in 2020. Dreaming of the magical jewels of the desert in monsoon. It is made using the traditional Indian miniature techniques. Ground pigments, gum arabic, and gold leaf, painted on Wasli paper.
In this collection are some of her pictures exhibited at the fort. Kate and Malini Saigal ran botanical and landscape workshops in the desert during the monsoons of 2019 and 2022.
The Pastoralists of the Deccan Plateau
In 2024 Kate was approached by the curator Sushma Siyengar of an upcoming exhibition ‘Living Lightly’ addressing the plight of Pastoralists in the savannah of the Deccan Plateau. She worked with her and ecologists and scientists to create a landscape which incorporated all the aspects of terrain rock and soil with details of the flora, grasses and the fauna which coexists symbiotically with the nomadic pastoralists and herdsmen. She made her terrain pigments using the rocks which were sent to her from the various areas of the Deccan. 2026 is the year of the Pastoralism and the exhibition has moved from Bangalore in the South to Pune where is is shown as part of a huge exhibition in and around Zapurza Museum.
