This language that is every stone
12 February–23 April 202212 Feb–23 Apr 2022
#ThisLanguageThatIsEveryStone
Today, the question of preservation versus innovation seems to underlie much cultural discourse, as if a choice between cultural identity and a global homogeneity were possible. This language that is every stone examines this tension through the concept of creolisation: an idea brought to prominence by Martinican writer Édouard Glissant. Widely recognised as one of the most important literary figures of the Caribbean, Glissant was a poet and philosopher whose body of work continues to inspire and influence artists across the globe.
Glissant defined creolisation as a constant state of cultural transformation, whereby endless local difference emerges from recurrent contact between people—with one another—as well as the natural world. As Glissant writes, creolisation is “a phenomenon that is real in the world: that is to say not one of us can pretend to be shielded from the good or bad influences of the world.”
Curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist, Asad Raza, and Kamilaroi artist Warraba Weatherall, This language that is every stone is the fourth iteration in a series of exhibitions conceived by Obrist and Raza that survey Glissant’s life and work. Developed specifically within an Australian context, This language that is every stone explores cultural synthesis and permeability through the works of Australian First Nations and diasporic artists, with contributions from international counterparts.
A publication accompanying the exhibition, edited by Olivia Fairweather, Liz Nowell, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Asad Raza, and Warraba Weatherall, is now available through the Gallery Shop.
This language that is every stone is supported by the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund and the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland.
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Artists
Curated by
- Hans Ulrich Obrist
- Asad Raza
- Warraba Weatherall
Hans Ulrich Obrist (born 1968) is a Swiss art curator, critic and historian of art. He is currently Aristic Director of the Serpentine Galleries, London. Prior to this, he was the Curator of the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris. Since his first show “World Soup” (The Kitchen Show) in 1991 he has curated more than 300 shows.
Hans Ulrich Obrist (born 1968) is a Swiss art curator, critic and historian of art. He is currently Aristic Director of the Serpentine Galleries, London. Prior to this, he was the Curator of the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris. Since his first show “World Soup” (The Kitchen Show) in 1991 he has curated more than 300 shows.
Born in 1974 in Buffalo, USA and of Pakistani background, Asad Raza works with experiences, human and non-human beings, and objects. He conceives of exhibitions as metabolic entities, zones of activity in which he constructs dialogue and scenarios between visitors and participants. Past works include Untitled (plot for dialogue), for which Raza installed a tennis-like game in a deconsecrated church in Milan. Root sequence. Mother tongue, first shown at the 2017 Whitney Biennial, is a forest of twenty-six living trees with human caretakers in the museum. For home show, which took place at his apartment in New York, Raza asked friends, family and artists to intervene in his own life.
Warraba Weatherall (b. 1987) is a Brisbane-based installation and street artist from the Kamilaroi Nation of south-west Queensland. Weatherall has a specific interest in archival repositories and structures, and the life of cultural objects and histories within these environments. His practice critiques the legacies of colonisation, where social, economic, and political realities perpetually validate Eurocentric ideologies. Drawing on his personal experience and cultural knowledge, he uses image, material and metaphor to contribute to a cross-cultural dialogue by offering alternate ways of seeing and understanding. Weatherall has exhibited locally and nationally, including DATUM, 2019 (Milani Gallery Carpark, Brisbane); While You Were Sleeping, 2019 (aMBUSH Gallery, Australian National University, Canberra); InstitutionaLies, 2017 (Metro Arts, Brisbane); and National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards, 2017 (Museum and Art Gallery Northern Territory, Darwin).
Warraba Weatherall (b. 1987) is a Brisbane-based installation and street artist from the Kamilaroi Nation of south-west Queensland. Weatherall has a specific interest in archival repositories and structures, and the life of cultural objects and histories within these environments. His practice critiques the legacies of colonisation, where social, economic, and political realities perpetually validate Eurocentric ideologies. Drawing on his personal experience and cultural knowledge, he uses image, material and metaphor to contribute to a cross-cultural dialogue by offering alternate ways of seeing and understanding. Weatherall has exhibited locally and nationally, including DATUM, 2019 (Milani Gallery Carpark, Brisbane); While You Were Sleeping, 2019 (aMBUSH Gallery, Australian National University, Canberra); InstitutionaLies, 2017 (Metro Arts, Brisbane); and National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards, 2017 (Museum and Art Gallery Northern Territory, Darwin).
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This language that is every stone
Room Sheet
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Hans Ulrich Obrist on Glissant
Keynote
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This language that is every stone
Education Kit
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After Glissant: First Nations Perspectives of Creolisation
Warraba Weatherall, Daniel Boyd & Jax Compton
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This language that is every stone
Virtual Exhibition
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This language that is every stone
Audio Description & Interpretive Texts
