THE MANIPURA SANCTUM
atlar, SCULPTURal offerings, & INSTALLATION
2021—present
ABOUT
“In the last months of my father’s life, our family was absorbed in a whirlwind of hospitals, doctors’ visits, and at-home caregiving. My father had a complex and unusual illness that was not well understood by doctors. With the rapid changes in his health, we were forced to confront the limits of modern medicine and to untangle the complexities of the American healthcare system. I found myself asking a very fundamental question: What is healthcare? What does it mean to ‘care’ for the ‘health’ of someone else?”
From the introduction to my art book, Manipura: Of Flowers and Bones.
Drawing from the theory and praxis of narrative medicine, I created The Manipura Sanctum, a space designed to bring together the public to reflect on their own experiences with medicine, caregiving, and community. A space that is as much about gathering as it is about healing, The Manipura Sanctum is an ongoing attempt to honor the needs of patients and caregivers, while simultaneously honoring the work of unpaid loved ones shouldering the burden of caring for the sick. An ongoing project that is constantly evolving, The Manipura Sanctum is a community space, a monument, and an honorific altar — an offering to the compassion and interdependence that healing illness requires.
“In The Manipura Sanctum, artist Smita Sen nurtures an altar space that reaches toward contemplative, social healing. Sen’s metamorphosing installation is devoted to caregivers of all styles, and to communing with the public about the realities of community-driven healthcare. The Sanctum is a realm that not only praises care providers, but undertakes the labor of generating public wellness. It offers balance, attention, and regeneration to all visitors who cross its threshold and seek relief in its embrace.”
From Recess where the work was developed and shown as part of the Session Residency (2021).
The Manipura Sanctum was on view as a solo exhibition at the Brooklyn Public Library (2022).
The manipura sanctum
Brooklyn public library x recess (2022)
Smita Sen performing Rituals of Sacred Surrender with Trina Basu at the Manipura Sanctum, Brooklyn Public Library (April 3rd, 2022).
Photography & Video Documentation for the Brooklyn Public Library by Gregg Richards.
recess (2021)
Smita Sen meditating in the Manipura Sanctum at Recess (2021).
High resolution photography for Recess by Ally Caple.
Press & Critical Writing
The Manipura Sanctum at the Brooklyn Public Library featured in NY1’s Spectrum News (2022).