In 2003, the collector, art critic and curator Hervé Perdriolle invited Richard Long and Denise Hooker to the lands of the legendary artist Jivya Soma Mashe (1934-2018) of the Warli tribe in the state of Maharashtra, 90 miles away from Mumbai, in India.

During the recent lockdown period, Perdriolle reflected on their common experience and put together this new publication that gathers a selection of photographs he took in 2003. Like Philip Haas' film Stones and Flies shot in the Sahara in 1987, it’s a rare testimony on Richard Long’s work in the making: a plot of land burnt to make it fertile, dark ash adjusted with light ash to make a ‘‘perfect’’ arc and the return of an ephemeral work to its original natural state thanks to children playing on the land.

“My 'personal language' is to use universal forms although in my own original ways, which I hope is not a contradiction. I think that on one level my work is simple and open, so any person anywhere can appreciate it.” Richard Long