Unmyth: Works and Worlds of Mithu Sen - Hardcover

by Irina Aristarkhova (Editor)

Presents the first comprehensive study of the impactful artwork of Mithu Sen, a major Indian contemporary artist and poet, in all its multiplicity and complexity.

This artist monograph presents the first comprehensive study of the artwork of Mithu Sen, a major contemporary artist and poet based in New Delhi, India. Her work spans over two decades of making and hundreds of exhibitions, projects, performances and word art, unveiling an unparalleled history of experiments with materials and concepts. The book's title, Unmyth, speaks to Sen's impactful work in all its multiplicity and complexity.

Sen's art imagines for us new worlds--including to escape to and from. Some elements are familiar, others are alien. As with myths, they are lulling and disturbing at the same time. These worlds are built around the key concepts in Sen's work: mything, unmything and postmything; radical hospitality; untaboo sexuality; lingual anarchy; critiquing institutions and countering capitalism; unmonolith identity; byproducts and contract. These and other concepts are engaged with systematically in wide-ranging essays, written by eminent scholars, curators, and critics who have followed Sen's work for many years. The artist herself contributes conceptual captions, dispersed citations, and the experimental Fictional Interview.

Author Biography

Irina Aristarkhova is Professor at Penny W. Stamps School of Art and Design and Digital Studies Institute at the University of Michigan. Sushmita Chatterjee is Professor and Chair of the Department of Ethnic and Gender Studies at Colorado State University in Fort Collins. Karin Zitzewitz is Professor and Chair of the Department of Art History and Archaeology at the University of Maryland. Nancy Adajania is a cultural theorist and curator based in Bombay who has curated a number of path-breaking exhibitions. Max Delany is Artistic Director at the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne.