Human beings are bound by notions of belonging and ancestry, proving their ties to land through written and oral histories, through documentation, and material attributes. As a race, humans leave residues of their interaction and conflict with the land, marking it with different aspects of ownership and control – whether they remain in one place, or shift and migrate. A part of this is of course the built world, the beautiful side of which stands as revered material culture, and the ugly side consisting of many, many layers of urban detritus.

In a cycle of consumption and neglect, the earth has been intrinsically altered, and all but squeezed off its natural abundance; and as current climate crises demonstrates – we don’t have much time. The concept questions the relevance of human intervention, physically and metaphorically. It dwells on both, the incapacity of our cities and towns to contain anymore, and the inability of the earth to sustain her natural rhythms, and human existence, under constant pressure.

How do artists navigate these questions, personally and collectively; how do they take responsibility for a fragile and crumbling ecosystem? This moment in time, when the very possibility of movement is curtailed, and we are all boxed in – what does transit mean, and where do we go from here? Is it possible to heal and grow?

Lina Vincent

Artists: Victor Hazra| Ashish Khushwaha | Venugopal V G | Manisha Agarwal | Samir Mohanty | Bhartti Verma | Nilesh Shilkar | Onkar Kshirsagar | Anoop Panickar