The Guardian reviews Camille Henrot's latest exhibition "Don't" at a private museum in London, marking a shift from her earlier grand-scale works about the origins of humanity and the universe. The show features two bodies of work: a series of layered digital-abstract paintings titled "Dos and Don'ts" that blend screenshots, collaged paper, and brushstrokes, and a set of erotic drawings depicting surreal sexual psychodramas. Henrot, who won the Silver Lion at the Venice Biennale in 2014, turns inward here, exploring the mundane, personal, and intimate aspects of everyday life.
The review matters because it highlights a significant pivot in the career of a major contemporary French artist, from hyper-ambitious, cosmic themes to introspective, minimal works. It also raises questions about the value of art that focuses on the private self and the everyday in an age of digital overwhelm. While the critic finds the paintings less compelling than Henrot's earlier installations and films, they acknowledge the show's raw honesty and its unapologetic window into the artist's personal life, including family, IVF, and sexuality.