New Delhi, March 28 -- Last year, Arpita Akhanda found herself-quite literally-a stepping stone. During her residency at the Hampi Labs, Karnataka, the artist was quite fascinated by the river-like patterns on a rock in a granite mine. Akhanda had initially mistaken it for a fossil, but further research revealed that the rock actually featured a dendritic pattern-a drainage pattern resembling the branching of a tree. What she didn't know, however, was how the rock would become a gateway to her dreams.

The 32-year-old artist has just won this year's Sovereign Asian Art Prize-one of Asia's oldest and most prestigious awards for contemporary art-and she has the rock from Hampi to thank for it. The piece inspired the winning work,Dendritic D...