Weathering House

"The Weathering House" developed while working with the local minor Muslim community workers living at the banks of the Aai river in Chirang (Assam). The installation was inspired by the living conditions at the banks of the river Aai. This particular community of people has been living with the tensions of communal violence and environmental problems caused by flood, soil erosion and their idea of houses is not something stationery but ephemeral. The withering house carries its history of loss, pain, and suffering. In this site-specific installation, we see an image of a house painted on bamboo sticks which changes form as the wind from the Aai river blows and as spectators play with the sticks. The house is there, but also not there just like the houses and the people of this community whose existence gets challenged by nature and other people living there. The whispering sounds of the wind and rattling sound of the bamboo sticks perhaps hum their stories of existence