Chitra Ganesh's work explores mythologies and narrative traditions in order to bring important historical conversations to the contemporary moment. In nonlinear narratives and richly layered visual worlds, Ganesh draws out alternative depictions of sexuality and power from popular stories and histories, highlighting the accounts of female protagonists, which have often been subsumed or marginalized by plot lines that reproduce the contours of majoritarian power. In Ganesh’s work, women and queer characters become the protagonists, actively shaping their futures. She encourages the viewer to see what was always there – what was once in the ‘margins of a mythic history’ is brought to the foreground.

In recent mixed media works, Ganesh creates beautiful respite, weaving everyday life with the magical, speaking to quiet, playful moments of human connection. The erotic runs as a current through all of the pieces, as a great source of power and creative energy that is physical and psychic. Each work, a moment in an epic, woven from everyday stories and everyday materials, draws the viewer into her alternate reality.