DAYANITA SINGH (* 1961) - The Third Sex, 1989-1999

8 gelatin silver prints, printed in the 1990s

Each c. 33 x 49 cm

Each signed and numbered by the photographer in ink in the margin, edition no. 3/15

PROVENANCE Private Collection Zurich, collection of Walter Keller, Scalo Zurich

Dayanita Singh's interdisciplinary visual essays and experimental photo books move at the intersection of documentary photography and conceptual art. With her clear commitment to the medium of photography, she has paved new paths for the exploration of images and is one of the most renowned photographers of our time.  In one of her earliest series, Myself Mona Ahmed, she documented the life of the eunuch Mona Ahmed, whom she met in 1989 while reporting for the British newspaper The Times. For more than ten years, she recorded her story: the birthday celebrations of her adopted daughter Ayesha, the blessing of newborn babies, her banishment from the eunuch community and her home in a cemetery in New Delhi are traced in black-and-white photographs. The series touchingly shows how close photographer and subject can become. In 2001, Singh's photographs were published in the book Myself Mona Ahmed by Walter Keller (Scalo) and contrasted here with deeply honest emails Mona sent to Walter Keller. Singh pulls back completely to let Mona tell her own story in all its complexity. Today, Singh continues to use photographs of Mona in her ongoing Museum Structure series, videos, and renowned international exhibition projects. The signed silver gelatin prints come from the estate of Walter Keller.