Label Text
“Unsubs” is drawn from the television series Criminal Minds where "unsub" denotes an unknown subject. Bhabha uses this premise to depict entities from an imaginary world while deliberately resisting characterization: her figures are ambiguous, neither heroes nor villains, their moral status left open to the viewer. Hovering between abstraction and figuration, the portraits have a raw, unresolved energy. To achieve their atmospheric depth and tactility, Bhabha employs a range of intaglio techniques — drypoint, line etching, spit bite aquatint, and sugar lift aquatint.
Printer
Julie Dam
Publisher
BORCH Editions
DimensionsSheet: 21 1/8 x 15 3/8 in. (53.7 x 39 cm)
Plate: 12 1/2 x 7 3/4 in. (31.8 x 19.7 cm)
Plate: 12 1/2 x 7 3/4 in. (31.8 x 19.7 cm)
Accession Number 2025.8.1
Classificationsprint
SignedHuma Bhabha 2016 (l,r graphite)
Inscriptions5/8 (l,l graphite)
Edition5/18
Paper/SupportHahnemühke Bütten 350 g
ProvenanceArtist (BORCH Editions); Des Moines Art Center [purchased from previous, 2025]
