Regina Anzenberger

India is a country of stark contrasts. People who come back from a journey there tell me the best or the worst stories about it. I was not sure how I would react to being there myself. In October 2015, Prashant Panjiar invited me to take part in the Delhi Photo Festival. It was my first trip to this big country full of stories and mysteries. The Jungle Book and One Thousand and One Nights, which both take place in India, were inspirations from my childhood.

Arriving in the middle of the night, I did not see so much of the area on the way from the airport to the city, but what I could see somehow actually uncannily made me think of my photo series, Roots & Bonds. For that project, I searched for structures and forms within the chaos of the woods. The only difference there in India was that it was not only the woods but the entire landscape that seemed to be in a state of chaos and improvisation – a veritable paradise for my eyes.

For many years, I had been drawn to the title, Imperfections, so it became clear to me that this would be the perfect theme for what I would photograph during my stay in India.

Regina Anzenberger, January 2024