In Transit 2011

Espace Louis Vuitton, Taipei. 2011

Mixed media watercolor drawings on Japanese Kozo paper in lightboxes

For a commissioned show with Louis Vuitton—defined by dos and don’ts—I worked with transparent Kozo paper, layering painted narratives into a translucent skin. After my initial composition was rejected, I created another layer to veil the “forbidden” imagery, allowing the project to be approved. Yet, when backlit, the disguised drawings beneath surfaced—an act of quiet defiance against corporate censorship.

The transparency revealed multiple memories—blooming flowers masking a bleeding fetus on a shopping cart, rootless trees clutching impossible burdens. These images became psychic landscapes of childhood and loss, holding the weight of life’s antitheses: beauty and morbidity, fragility and survival.

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Mithu often uses material as a self-censored, playful escape from the naked eye—subverting perception to expose hidden truths and provoke the psyche. Her exploration with semi-transparent Japanese Kozo paper is a prime example. At Awagami Factory, Japan, she worked with paper masters to create custom pulp from tree bark and organic glue, embedding digital prints into the wet pulp before adding drawing and mixed media after drying.

This translucent skin, painted on both sides, veils “forbidden” imagery beneath an approved surface. When backlit or placed on a lightbox, the concealed layers emerge—quiet acts of defiance against censorship. The works inhabit the in-between, questioning the politics of omission and the unseen.