Arko Datto

Installation shots of my exhibition ‘Kings of a Bereft Land’ at @fotomuseumdenhaag curated by @willemijnvdzwaan . The exhibition is on till 21 May 2023. Please do visit if you happen to be in The Netherlands. @iris.sikking @wimvansinderen The exhibition has been made possible with support from @asnbank . I would also like to thank @princeclausfund @goetheinstitut @camargofoundation @lightworkorg @dockingstationtoday @nikoneurope @noorimages @eastwingphoto @natgeo for their support during various stages of this proje

Install shots from my exhibition of THE SHUNYO RAJA MONOGRAPHIES at @lightworkorg in Syracuse, New York. This is a long term photography trilogy that proposes three distinct ways of visualising the Bengal Delta, considered one of the ground zeros of climate change. Spread across both their spaces, Kathleen O. Ellis Gallery & Hallway Gallery, the exhibition will run from March 20 – August 4, 2023. Please do look in and do drop by if you happen to be in the area.

Beyond thrilled that one of the best magazines out there, @geomagazin features me as part of GEO PERSPEKTIVE, a special annual issue dedicated to photographers. My gratitude and thanks to the most amazing @larslindemann_geo and the entire team at GEO Magazin for putting this together. My heartfelt thanks to @kaifriese , former GEO India editor, who penned the profile piece via extended conversations and meet-ups in Delhi and Kolkata, wherein we ended up having a great time exploring my favourite photography haunts around town, discussing life, art and politics. My portrait on the last spread is courtesy @taniya.sarkar Posted @withregram • @larslindemann_geo @geomagazin just dedicated another special issue to a bunch of pretty outstanding photographers. What all six have in common is that they’ve started their careers documenting they‘re own backyards, cities, communities. All of them became internationally acclaimed photographers, exhibiting their work in other countries, shooting on commission for international media but they still continue the in-depth work they began in their neighborhoods years or even decades ago. ⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠ I‘ll publish all layouts from this very special issue here featuring today amazing Arko Datto, artist, educator und curator from Kolkata. Profile piece written by former GEO India editor Kai Friese.⁠ ⁠⁠⁠ #arkodatto #geoperspektive #geomagazin #kaifriese #kolkata #india #westbangal #sundarbarns #documentaryphotography

As the inaugural edition of 𝙋𝙝𝙤𝙩𝙤𝙛𝙡𝙪𝙭, KCC and Emami Art present 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘂𝘁𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗗𝗶𝗻𝗼𝘀𝗮𝘂𝗿 𝗦𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗲𝘀, a performance lecture by 𝗔𝗿𝗸𝗼 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗼 on 23 May 2026 at Gallery 1, Ground Floor, Emami Art. Moving through photography, film, video, and installation, Datto’s practice traces the anxieties and afterlives of the contemporary world through questions of techno-fascism, digital surveillance, forced migration, and disappearing landscapes. Through image, text, and performative narration, the lecture unfolds as a speculative excavation of extinction, memory, institutional language, and the fragile systems through which knowledge is produced, archived, inherited, and made to endure. Photoflux is an ongoing photography program by KCC and Emami Art that creates space for critical dialogue and collective learning around the image and its shifting lives across time, technology, memory, and everyday experience. 𝟮𝟯 𝗠𝗮𝘆 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 | 𝟱–𝟳 𝗣𝗠 | 𝗚𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝟭, 𝗘𝗺𝗮𝗺𝗶 𝗔𝗿𝘁 𝗢𝗣𝗘𝗡 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗔𝗟𝗟 For more information, visit: 𝘄𝘄𝘄.𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗮𝗿𝘁.𝗰𝗼𝗺

PRESS RELEASE: INSTITUTE OF CONTEMPORARY DINOSAUR STUDIES, KOLKATA (ICDSK) Subject: Circulating Images of Tyrannical Entity Displacement/Reception
Region: Eastern Realms
Period of Observation: Post-Mandate Phase
Report ID: ICDS/PR2026/002 Summary of Situation The Institute has been receiving the annexed images (Ref: PR2026/001/A, PR2026/001/B) repeatedly from various quarters following the tumultuous events of the past few days. Certain interpretations maintain that the images depict the spontaneous eviction by the common populace of a dreaded tyrannical being that had, over the years, embedded itself deeply within their midst, exerting influence over multiple aspects of public and private life. Alternative readings suggested that the images instead show the common man welcoming a new tyrannical entity into their folds, unaware of the potential terror such an entity may yet unleash upon their lives. Interpretative Instability The Institute has been unable to independently verify either interpretation. The present case once again demonstrates the instability of meaning attributed to images. Stripped of temporal continuity and broader contextual frameworks, the photograph remains vulnerable to contradictory readings shaped as much by the viewer’s fears, anxieties, hopes, and ideological predispositions as by the visual evidence itself. Our Assessment The Institute therefore posits that the two seemingly opposing interpretations may, in fact, describe the same underlying phenomenon. The images are thus best approached not as conclusive evidence of either emancipation or capitulation, but rather as visual testimonies situated within a broader historical continuum of tyranny in these lands: namely, the recurring rise, adaptation, consolidation and eventual decline of tyrannical regimes across the region.

FIELD REPORT: INSTITUTE OF CONTEMPORARY DINOSAUR STUDIES (ICDS) Subject: Unidentified Dino Deployment Units (DDU) Region: Eastern Realms Period of Observation: Election Phase II Report ID: ICDS/FR2026/004 Summary of Situation During the ongoing elections in the Eastern Realms, a substantial influx of non-native dinosaur populations has been observed across residential zones. Official statements have characterised this deployment as an enhanced security measure intended to ensure a safe and orderly electoral process. This explanation has been met with heightened scepticism among local residents. Observed Behaviour DDUs continue to maintain a sustained presence in and around residential areas. Notable behavioural patterns include: - Repetitive circling of specific homes - Strategic positioning near entrances and boundary walls of particular public buildings and key civilian infrastructure - Continuous monitoring of surrounding activity Incidents of altercations with local populations were reported on election day, with further such reports continuing to be received by the Institute. Visual Record Annexed image (Ref: FR2026/004/A) shows Protima Banerjee, a long-time resident of an undisclosed Dum Dum locality, cautiously peering out of her window to ascertain whether the DDUs stationed outside her residence had moved. A negative observation resulted in visible frustration and continued apprehension on the part of Protimadi, further compounded by the fact that her name had been removed from the electoral rolls citing insufficient documentation. Preliminary Assessment While the deployment is officially designated as a security measure, its operational characteristics suggest a form of persistent surveillance within civilian spaces. Further clarification is requested from the relevant authorities concerning: - the origin of the deployed units - the scope and duration of their assignment - the extent of their mandate beyond stated objectives.

In February 2026, I was on a brief assignment for Le Monde with @sophielandrin and @_sabahgurmat examining Ahmedabad’s continued hostility toward its Muslim minorities. We visited Gulbarg Society, where at least 69 people were killed during the 2002 massacre. This is a wider edit of photographs of Rafiq Mansouri, who lost most of his family members in the violence, including his wife, as well as his right eye. Rafiq has since remarried, and his new family is now the only one still living in the complex. The society remains unrestored, its walls and structures still bearing the visible scars of the massacre, a stark reminder of majoritarian violence and apathy in BJP ruled states. 1.Rafiq Mansouri outside Ehsan Jafri’s destroyed home. 2.On the rooftop of Ehsan Jafri’s destroyed home. 3.Abandoned house, Gulbarg Society. 4.Gulbarg Society used for auto parking. 5.Outside Ehsan Jafri’s destroyed home. 6.Portrait inside his new home, Gulbarg Society. 7.Rafiq Mansouri with his wife, son, and cat outside their home.

Side astronaut. An image from my project ROCKETGARH in celebration of The International Day of Human Space Flight, commemorating cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin’s Vostok 1 mission in 1961. This image: Chandannagar, 2025.

1) Fishing at dusk. 2019. Qutubdia Island, Bangladesh. 2) Nighttime fishing. 2019. Mousuni Island, India. Images from the project WHERE DO WE GO WHEN THE FINAL WAVE HITS, 2nd Chapter of THE SHUNYO RAJA MONOGRAPHIES.

𝐀𝐫𝐤𝐨 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐨: 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐨 𝐰𝐞 𝐠𝐨 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐰𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐬 We are happy to present a publication by Arko Datto made on the occasion of his solo show that took place at @leipzigphotobookfestival . It is on show at @halle_14 until 2 April. Softcover, handmade binding 𝗗𝗶𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗺𝘂𝗱𝗱𝘆 𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿 15 x 30 cm, 48 pages Edition of 150 handmade copies •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Between 2017 and 2020, Indian photographer Arko Datto @arkodatto documented the dwindling mangrove forests and rising water levels of the Sundarbans in India, where 300 million inhabitants of the delta experience the daily nightmare of climate change – people who are least responsible for it, but feel its effects the most. Using harsh flash photography at night, Datto creates a surreal, unsettling atmosphere that perfectly encapsulates the festival theme: the fragile existence of communities whose power is waning in the face of the climate crisis, while documenting their struggle for survival and dignity. Available at @halle_14 and on @dienachtpublishing website

[ 𝐄𝐗𝐇𝐈𝐁𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 ] 𝐀𝐫𝐤𝐨 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐨: 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐨 𝐰𝐞 𝐠𝐨 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐰𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐬 Is on view at @halle_14 till 2 April A book published on the occasion of the exhibition is available at @halle_14 and on @dienachtpublishing website Between 2017 and 2020, Indian photographer Arko Datto documented the dwindling mangrove forests and rising water levels of the Sundarbans in India, where 300 million inhabitants of the delta experience the daily nightmare of climate change – people who are least responsible for it, but feel its effects the most. Using harsh flash photography at night, Datto creates a surreal, unsettling atmosphere that perfectly encapsulates the festival theme: the fragile existence of communities whose power is waning in the face of the climate crisis, while documenting their struggle for survival and dignity. Exhibition is curated by Calin Kruse Photos of the exhibition: @waltherlekon