Dora Garcia, Artificial Respiration, 2016, performance, text Photo: Elisa Bermejo. IVAM, Institut Valencià d’Art Modern, Valencia
Join us for the Launch on 2 February 2017, 6-8pm. Free.
These books were alive; they spoke to me! is an exhibition of printed matter and performance works by Barcelona based artist Dora García. Her first institutional solo show in the UK, this exhibition will also coincide with the 20th annual Leeds International Contemporary Artists’ Book Fair taking place at The Tetley in March 2017.
García’s show will provide a retrospective look at her career-long production of book editions, book sculptures, and other printed matter, and the ongoing connection within her practice to the broader tropes of popular literature, theatre and film. For These books were alive; they spoke to me!, García will stage a new iteration of several ongoing performance works stemming from texts written by the artist, by others following the protocols given by the artist, or utilising and responding to iconic literary texts such as James Joyce’s Finnegan’s Wake.
‘These books were alive; they spoke to me,’ is a quote from François Truffaut’s 1966 dystopic cult film Fahrenheit 451 (based on Ray Bradbury’s novel of the same name). This literary reference opens up a framework for the exhibition and expanded programme, which features books about performance, and performances about books.
