Dayanita
Singh

Born in 1961 in New Delhi, Dayanita Singh is an artist whose work mixes the genres of photo reportage, fiction, and montage. In her work, imbued with empathy and poetry, she portrays both individuals who reject society’s norms and that society itself. 

Dayanita Singh’s first photographic project stems from her meeting with tabla player Zakir Hussain, who invited her to photograph the intimacy of rehearsals. This work, carried out over time like her later projects, led to the publication of her first book in 1986. In her second project, published in 2001, she juxtaposes photographs and letters to tell the story of her dearest friend, the courageous and resilient Mona Ahmed, living in a cemetery in Old Delhi. Her subsequent projects address more personal themes and intertwine her own history with that of India. Her work has been exhibited twice at the Venice Biennale, in 2011 and 2013. She lives and works in New Delhi.