Important Notice

In her mixed media works on paper, Mithu Sen contrasts scale, subject and even genre to give life to her remarkable imagination. There is no definite meaning or narrative in these works; put down in the style of free association, they consist of a peculiar collection of motifs that playfully subvert commonly held beliefs about femininity and sexuality. Juxtaposing intricate and large forms, conflating animals, humans and inanimate objects, and... In her mixed media works on paper, Mithu Sen contrasts scale, subject and even genre to give life to her remarkable imagination. There is no definite meaning or narrative in these works; put down in the style of free association, they consist of a peculiar collection of motifs that playfully subvert commonly held beliefs about femininity and sexuality. Juxtaposing intricate and large forms, conflating animals, humans and inanimate objects, and combining drawing, painting and collage, Sen creates "…representations of surreal sexual fantasies – exploring and reflecting recurrent complex themes such as kitsch, domesticity and gender. Her works are at once morbid and playful, sensual and twisted – placing the viewer in the uncomfortable position of a voyeur of Sen's intensely personal thoughts" (Shweta Wahi, Private/Corporate IV: Works from the Lekha and Anupam Poddar, New Delhi, and DaimlerChrysler Collections: A Dialogue, DaimlerChrysler AG exhibition catalogue, Berlin, 2007, p. 57).

"However, there is an element of humor to Sen's work – while the [subjects have] connotations of sexuality [they are] also light-hearted, reminding one of childhood fantasies where the mundane morphs into something fantastic and strange." In the artist's works on paper, "…the feeling is a layered one of childlike naïveté overlaid with the confused sexuality of an inexperienced woman/pre-pubescent girl coming to terms with what it means to be ‘Female'" (Ibid.).

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