Artbook, Steidl, and The Museum of Modern Art C-MAP Asia group invite you to a presentation of
Dayanita Singh: Museum Bhavan, a conversation between Dayanita Singh and Sean Anderson, Associate Curator, Department of Architecture and Design, The Museum of Modern Art, followed by a book signing.
Museum Bhavan is a work by Dayanita Singh made up of nine mobile wooden structures, each of which
houses images photographed by the artist. When Museum Bhavan began being presented in traditional
institutions, Singh decided to find a form that would allow her museums to be simultaneously disseminated in more domestic spaces. As a result, the larger museums were transformed into this pocket museum, a book to be taken anywhere.
Consisting of 10 individual “museums” in book form, Museum Bhavan is a miniature version of Singh’s
eponymous traveling exhibition, published by Steidl in 2017. With this publication, Singh forges a new
space between publishing and the museum, an experience where books have the same—if not
greater—artistic value as prints hanging on a gallery wall.
The images in Museum Bhavan have been intuitively grouped into lyrical chapters telling a visual story
such as “Little Ladies Museum” and “Ongoing Museum,” as well as more specific series such as “Museum of Machines.” The books are housed in a unique, handmade clamshell box and fold out into accordion-like strips, which the artist encourages viewers to install and curate as they wish in their own homes.
Is it a book? Is it an exhibition? Is it mass-produced? Is it unique? Is it a work of art? It's all of this and more as Singh invites you to become the curator of her work.
This event takes place at Artbook @ MoMA PS1.