Dayanita Singh

Dayanita Singh creates images that pulse with life. The Indian photographer is known for unfiltered shots of local shopkeepers, strangers, and friends and family. Her photographs offer a dynamic and evolving portrait of India over nearly 40 years through often unorthodox methods. In a 2022 interview, she likened her waist-level, medium-format Hasselblad camera to a “third breast,” noting her tendency to shoot from her core, “dancing around” her subjects, rather than standing still and looking down through the viewfinder. She’s been equally innovative in the presentation and distribution of her works, often displaying photographs in what she calls “mobile museums,” folding wooden structures that are portable, or on towers of cubes that can be continuously rearranged. Singh goes beyond traditional art-market approaches: in addition to selling limited-edition prints at high prices through a gallery, which is the typical approach for a fine-art photographer, she also creates more affordable photographic books and collections. Earlier this spring, Singh’s works were presented in a headline-making exhibition at the State Archives of Venice. This fall, she will open two more solo museum e...