Mithu Sen obtained her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Kala Bhavan at Santiniketan, and later, completed a postgraduate program at the Glasgow School of Art in the United Kingdom. In her works, often called “byproducts”, Sen contrasts scale, subject and even genre to venture into an enigmatic terrain of ideas and affects, problematizing the existing notions of hospitality, sexuality, communication, and gift economy. Swinging between distance and intimacy, Sen not only opens the barrier of the intimate to the public, but also makes sure of the interaction between the two – often under the theme of “radical hospitality”. Using both the virtual and real forms of social relations and individual experience, through an approach oscillating between the spontaneous and the premeditated, Sen expands the field and medium of art fundamentally as a ‘performer’ (understood in the term’s widest sense). Sen also creates works that challenge the notion of language as a natural means of communication and attempts to transcend the politics of control and codes of propriety that dictate our perception of the world. The use of subconscious language as a form of resistance against dominating languages has led Sen to create an abstract body of gibberish text that claims repressed emotional voices and a potential moment of what she calls ‘lingual anarchy’. The idea refers to an affective inquiry into the limits and possibilities of language under semiocapitalism by employing glitch, noise, and the nonsensicality of a radical glossolalia. This conception of language is at the epicenter of Sen’s recent explorations, developed by complimenting art objects bordering between abjection and allure. Sen’s recent works extend from the promise of language and community to the legality of a contract, opening up a zone caught between law and life. An enthusiastic traveler, Sen currently lives and works in New Delhi.

ABOUT SFSIA

Saas-Fee Summer Institute of Art (SFSIA) is a nomadic, intensive summer academy with shifting programs in contemporary critical theory. SFSIA stresses an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the relationship between art and politics. The program consists of seminar-style lectures, deep readings, and workshops. An evening lecture program is free and open to the public. SFISA was founded and is directed by Warren Neidich and is co-directed by Barry Schwabsky. Sarrita Hunn is the artistic coordinator.