Seed - Gita Wolf, Tushar Vayeda, Mayur Vayeda

Seed by Gita Wolf, illustrated by Tushar and Mayur Vayeda / ISBN 9789390037056 / A handmade silk-screened 46-page hardback in slip case, 10.5 x 10.5 inches, published in 2024 by Tara Books (India) / limited edition of 2000

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A seed is a miracle. It is neither alive nor dead, yet holds within itself the potential for life. When it meets the right conditions, it starts to unfurl, with a promise of plenty and the hope of regeneration.

The astonishing variety of traits that a seed holds can be looked at in terms of botany, but also through the lens of art, culture and history. But it is only by connecting these modes—bringing together science and imagination, knowing and relishing—that we can begin to grasp nature with the wonder that it deserves.

This gorgeous handcrafted book makes these connections in two unprecedented ways. The exquisite imagery it features has been created by artists from the Warli tribe in western India. The Warlis nurture a felt kinship with nature to this day, so their art embodies rich ecological knowledge systems in an intrinsic way.

The book also connects form and meaning. Linked by short concise essays, four distinct paper forms explore a diverse set of themes: each designed to capture a particular aspect of the cosmos contained in a seed.