Camille Henrot

A collection of short essays by artist Camille Henrot (born 1978), Milkyways explores the ambivalence of motherhood and the process of creation in both art-making and life. Each chapter explores a cosmos of references in literature, comics, art history, psychoanalysis and more—from ancient maternity myths to modern maternity wards; from Marcel Proust to Maggie Nelson to Hélène Cixous.
Accompanied by illustrations of the artist’s work in painting, drawing and sculpture, Henrot’s essays oscillate freely between the personal and the societal, the candid and the complex, the visceral and the mundane. Milkyways was originally conceived for Republik magazine at the invitation of author Antje Stahl, and was written with Jacob Bromberg, Antje Stahl and Léa Trudel.

Over the past 20 years, French-born, New York–based artist Camille Henrot (born 1978) has developed a critically acclaimed practice deploying mediums such as drawing, painting, sculpture, installation and film to address subjects ranging from self-help and cultural anthropology to social media in its engagement with the changing status of information distribution and interpersonal connections.
Mother Tongue is Henrot's first publication focused solely on painting and drawing, bringing together over 200 works from the series System of Attachment, Wet Job and Soon, spanning the past five years, which address ambivalent aspects of care and the tension between the human developmental need for attachment and separation, beginning at infancy and continuing throughout life. The book is accompanied by texts from Emily Labarge, Legacy Russell, Marcus Steinweg, Hélene Cixous and Seamus Kealy, and a conversation between Camille Henrot and curator Julika Bosch.

The practice of French-born, New York–based artist Camille Henrot (born 1978) spans film, painting, drawing, sculpture and installation. Henrot’s influences are equally diverse, encompassing everything from self-help to cultural anthropology to social media in its engagement with the changing status of information distribution and interpersonal connections.
This first major monograph on the artist features key works from the beginning of Henrot’s career to 2020, providing an intimate look at both new works on paper and immersive exhibits like The Pale Fox (2014) and Grosse Fatigue (2013). Over 200 images are accompanied by new scholarship on the artist. The array of eclectic voices gathered—Dan Fox, Shanay Jhaveri, Clara Meister, Jane Devery and Pip Wallis—does justice to the multifaceted quality of Henrot’s work.

Elephant Child is a natural extension of the artistic practice of New York-based French artist Camille Henrot. Originated during an Artist Research Fellowship at the Smithsonian Institution, which laid the groundwork for her 2013 video Grosse Fatigue and the subsequent installation The Pale Fox (2014–15), Elephant Child represents the culmination of a long-term inquiry into the human effort to make the universe comprehensible. The book contains an original text by Henrot written with Clara Meister and Michael Connor, documentation, sketches, and research materials. An interview between Henrot and social anthropologist Monique Jeudy-Ballini offers insight into Henrot’s characteristic approach of knowledge production and organization. Ultimately, the book is an object of high universalist ambition—devoid of authority, creating instead a vivid prismatic image of the realm of thought.