Camille Henrot on Tapping Into a Boundless Imagination

For the Paris-born, New York–based artist Camille Henrot, time practically never stands still. Across her work in film, drawing, painting, sculpture, installation—and soon, live performance—Henrot has developed ways of stretching and distorting time, seamlessly shifting from moments of potent, rapid-fire intensity to quiet reflection. While her work carries a theory-driven ferocity and intelligence, it’s also incredibly playful. Hers is serious art that manages—often with a knowing, subtle wink—to not take itself too seriously.

On this episode of Time Sensitive, Henrot considers the subjectivity of speed and slowness; previews her upcoming first-ever performance-art piece, slated to premiere in 2026 and a collaboration with the nonprofit Performa; and reflects on why, for her, a work is technically never finished. She also shares her fraught fascination with animals, childhood, and the climate crisis—the intersection of which she examines in-depth in her soon-to-debut film “In the Veins.”

Special thanks to our Season 12 presenting sponsor, Van Cleef & Arpels.

Show notes:

Camille Henrot

[4:30] RoseLee Goldberg

[4:30] Performa Biennial

[6:37] Buster Keaton

[6:37] Tex Avery

[7:03] Estelle Hoy

[7:19] Adam Charlap Hyman of Charlap Hyman & Herrero

[16:10] “In the Veins” (2026)

[17:45] "Grosse Fatigue"

[17:45] Massimiliano Gioni

[38:51] Roland Barthes

[45:36] Pierre Huyghe

[47:51] Ikebana Sogetsu

[51:46] Okwui Enwezor

[55:03] Hypernormalisation by Adam Curtis (2016)

[59:51] Jacob Bromberg

[59:51] Akwetey Orraca-Tetteh

[1:08:50] Adrienne Rich

[1:08:50] Ursula K. Le Guin

[1:08:50] Annie Ernaux

[1:08:50] Mother Reader by Moyra Davey (2001)

[1:08:50] Jenny Schlenzka

[1:10:14] Maggie Nelson

[1:11:02] Mothers: An Essay on Love and Cruelty by Jacqueline Rose (2019)

[1:11:02] Representation of Motherhood by Donna Bassin (1994)

[1:13:00] Louise Bourgeois