Artist, filmmaker and writer VISWANADHAN foregrounds movement and dimensionality on the painted surface. His approach to the medium as a travelling form resonates with his character as an itinerant creator. Born in 1940 in Kerala, he trained in Madras (now Chennai) with K.C.S. Paniker, a founding figure of the Cholamandal Artists’ Village, and has been based in Paris since 1968. Deeply inspired by the sacred geometry of yantras and mandalas, he imbibed these energy figures during childhood. Among his Sharjah Biennial 16 works, composed over five decades, are early drawings made with stamp ink and bamboo stylus; canvases layered with casein, metallic tints and raw oxides; and sewn paintings. VISWANADHAN’s non-scripted film series about the elements, made in collaboration with the Malayalam film auteur Adoor Gopalakrishnan, reflects on ecology, cosmos and everyday life in India. Playing a central role throughout VISWANADHAN’s film, photography and assemblage, sand is invoked as a life source and an agent of built civilisation, connecting deserts, trade winds and ancient ports.