Unsettled is a series of fictional writings, paintings and sculptures that began as a response to a photograph that caught my eye in a news article on mining in India. The photograph depicts a terrain with brick walls around two meters in height surrounded by trees, small bushes, and grass in various shades of green. The sculptural quality of these structures, which crisscross in maze-like configurations, mimic architectural ruins. The walls, erected by villagers near the Dipka coal mine in Chattisgarh, serve one of two purposes- to increase the land’s value, or to discourage multinational corporations from acquiring the land.

Written during my stay in Maastricht, these fictional passages take place in Balenga, a village in the Bastar region of Chattisgarh, India, and explore the rhythm of life that I experienced while living there from 2018 to early 2019.