reading corner solace (février 2025)

Throughout the solace exhibition, visitors will be able to browse freely in a collection of books from the media library that will be made available on the annex(e) above the reception, visible upon entrance in the argos' building. The selection includes publications about the artists on view, as well as publications that carry a certain echo to the present works through their softness, room for contemplation, humour, hopefulness, simplicity... They offer a deeper understanding of artistic practices that could potentially bring the audience... well... solace.

The selection:

Skies, Edurne Rubio & Maria Jerez

Skies is a practice that emerged when Edurne Rubio and María Jerez found themselves working in isolation during the creation process of their performance A Nublo in 2020. A dialogue in pictures capturing the skies above Madrid, Brussels and many other places, it is now a book and document of a particular time that invites others to reminisce as they read the clouds and ponder invisible worlds that haunt the aether. It comes with an essay by Augusto Corrieri on theatre and cosmos.

The Beauty is Relentless. The Short Movies of Emily Vey Duke and Cooper Battersby, Mike Hoolboom (ed.)

"[Here] exists a kind of nakedness, a peeling away of propriety, a questioning of behavioral and social systems--and yet I find their work refreshingly playful and deeply generous."--Deborah Stratman, University of Illinois at Chicago

The literary post-punk short movies of Emily Vey Duke and Cooper Battersby have been tearing up the festival/gallery circuit for the past fifteen years with their blend of bedroom pop, perverse animations, and hopes for fame. In this collection of award-winning scripts, creative writings, and critical missives, scholars, video legends, and animal experts--including Steve Reinke, Sarah Hollenberg, Akira Lippit, and Tom Sherman--weigh in on why these movies matter.

Something About Today, Mekhitar Garabedian

"Something About Today" is published on the occasion of the first museum solo exhibition of the Syrian-born and Belgian-based Mekhitar Garabedian (1977, Aleppo). The exhibition consisted of works from the last five years, several new productions and a first look at Garabedian's 'library'. In his work, Garabedian examines the position of the individual and the development of identity n contemporary society shaped by migratory movements. Using widely divergent media, he examines how the rupture caused by migration continues to determine the present and how multilingualism shapes the position and psyche of the migrant. Just as his personal history is layered, Garabedian's discourse reveals numerous references to literature, music, philosophy, and the visual arts.

The publication also includes texts by Marie-Aude Baronian, Jorge Luis Borges, Svetlana Boym, Thomas Caron, Mekhitar Garabedian and Philippe Van Cauteren.

Jayce Salloum: history of the present, Jen Budney (ed.)

This monograph accompanying the first retrospective of this important Canadian artist’s career fills an large gap in contemporary art documentation. There are many reasons for Salloum’s relatively low profile in his home country, including the non-commercial and interdisciplinary nature of his work (photography and video practices, collaborative, community-based work, and even curating and writing) and its extremely broad international focus. Yet Salloum is one of Canada’s most widely recognized artists abroad, where his distinctive commitment to the exploration of personal stories and viewpoints within unstable or uncertain geo-political contexts has led him to collaborations with individuals and communities in places as far-ranging as Palestine, the former Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Cuba, Lebanon, Aotearoa (New Zealand), Kamloops, and more. The comprehensive publication brings together diverse and sometimes competing voices of many individuals to reflect upon the impact of Salloum’s production. Contributors include Keith Wallace, Jamelie Hassan, Walid Raad and Haema Sivanesan.

Somewhere from Here to Heaven, Bruce Baillie

A publication that brings together a constellation of artists from different generations inspired by the cinematic universe of Bruce Baillie - an essential filmmaker from the 60's, one of the most influential of the American cinematic avant-garde and a great promoter of experimental cinema.

Art is Magic, Jeremy Deller

With his playful, political and provocative work borrowing from many forms and produced over many mediums, Turner Prize–winning British artist Jeremy Deller (born 1966) enjoys critical acclaim across the world. His projects over the past two decades, such as Battle of Orgreave (2001) and We’re Here Because We’re Here (2016), as well as the documentary Everybody in the Place: An Incomplete History of Britain 1984–1992 (2019), have greatly influenced the map of contemporary art.

Everything Fell Together, Christian Jankowski

This survey of Christian Jankowski's career in film, video, photography and installation is the first to track his progress from 1992 to 2005. Over that time, Jankowski has come to the fore with a circular method of creation in which the very process of making a video, film or installation becomes the content of the work. His interest in studying the relationships and boundaries between fiction and documentary, art and commerce, art and the public and art and popular culture has brought him into collaboration with children, magicians, customs officials, artists, therapists, psychics and television preachers, giving them what seems to be creative responsibility, but quietly retaining the framing and, of course, the last word. Jankowski's subtly funny and decidedly engaging critique of the nature of contemporary art production makes him one of the most thought-provoking image makers working today. The exhibition upon which this book is based was highlighted by Artforum as one of the top shows not to miss, worldwide.

A Space of Empathy, John Akomfrah

Julia Grosse, the exhibition’s curator, notes: “John Akomfrah aims to create what is unseen, untold, and unheard. His installations evoke poetic and powerful images to describe the urgency of these themes, yet without moralizing about them. As an artist, he manages to integrate and represent complex associations in a manner that is multidimensional and differentiated. Rather than confining his interest to human viewpoints, Akomfrah is always mindful of the narratives of other life forms that share our planet, such as plants and animals. His work provides a shift in perspective and questions the consequences of collective and individual action. Essentially, he would like to create a space of empathy with visitors.”

source: https://www.e-flux.com/announcements/510619/john-akomfraha-space-of-empathy/