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Though the overarching theme of The Earth Beneath is nature, specifically soil and what grows and dies within it, the artists in this show – Leon KL and Sebastian Varghese – have two differing and specific concerns. The latter is interested in the earth as a space of birth and decay, one in which preservation and destruction simultaneously takes place. The former views soil as something that not only holds rock, water, minerals and lava, but also as a place of transformation: dead trees turn into coal, carbon into diamonds. These specific views reflect clearly in their work.

Leon works with pastels and has a methodical technique, one that reflects his academic studies in botany. The drawings could easily have come out of a textbook. This, however, does not work against him; rather, the pastels soften the images, adding rich colour and detail. Take “Embryonic 1” (see pic below), a precise cross-section of a germinating seed that’s been sown underground. There are finely detailed sections within, some of which are sending roots out into the soil. While some of the drawings seem to lack this kind of careful detail, especially in the “Earthbound” and “Translocation” series, an image from “Incision” titled “Incision 3” is noteworthy. It shows a felled tree sinking into the soil and becoming part of its surroundings.

Sebastian’s watercolours incorporate a sense of transience in a number of ways. The “Capillary” (see pic above) series seems to map the veins of the earth through which a variety of materials – seeds, used condoms, nuts and bolts, worms, insects, shells, mushrooms – flow, all swirling together in fantastic harmony. In fact, “Capillary 2” gives the viewer the feeling of peering through a microscope into a secret, hidden world. “Vestige”, on the other hand, is a static yet grim reminder of how little is left behind after life has passed; the skeletal remains of an animal or a human mingle with stones and twigs. The “Conservatory” series, interestingly enough, deals with how abandoned things like machines and motorcars made of unnatural materials are, despite our thoughtlessness, also claimed by the earth. “Tools and Relics” is a particularly evocative piece that shows a cross-section of ground (on which flowers grow), which serves as a graveyard for manmade tools – some prehistoric, others contemporary. A graveyard is, of course, one interpretation: this could be seen to be a reservoir of memories of the passage of time and the progress of mankind, as well. Janice Pariat