The articles and projects in this issue stem from commissioned responses to the theme of “taste,” framed in part by sociologist Pierre Bourdieu’s text Distinction, which examines the relationship between taste and class.
Articles
“The material reliance of photography—and the artworld—on mining is often overlooked. Palu’s body of work is a corrective to this blind spot in photography and all camera-based image-making.”
“I’d love to stop working, but clicking is work. Scrolling is work. Posting is work. Commenting is work. Changing my thermostat is work. Talking to my friends is work. Even activities that were already forms of work are now multiplied. This feels like the apotheosis of bullshit work.”
“Writing about art has become a way for me to explore my own identity and cultural heritage, to engage with complex ideas about representation, history, and creativity. […] Art has become a mirror, reflecting not just the world around me, but also my internal landscape—my memories, emotions, and thoughts.”
“In the beforetimes, you would never have worked like this: through two hypothetical fifteen- minute breaks and a lunch, with no concept of overtime, entirely alone. There was time to distract yourself with images—a plentiful supply in a seemingly endless scroll. The work seemed less urgent then; yesterday’s rest was a risk of different proportions.”
“Re-working traditional Islamic art forms and objects by employing a variety of media (ink drawing, painting, printmaking, digital print, laser cutting, and video projection), I attempt to reconsider the attachment of divineness and depth in art making. I want to highlight how the meticulous process of creating art—once celebrated in ancient Persia as a symbol of beauty, precision, and spirituality—has become obscured in today’s art world.”
An essay by the Aisle 4 Collective shares findings from their ongoing research project into the role of non-disclosure agreements.
Artist Sarah Cullen (ON) reflects on MOTHRA: Artist-Parent Project, a residency and network for artist-parents and their children, designed to question dominant ideas about care work.
“Labour is a well-explored topic in contemporary art—it is the subject of annual festivals, the dedicated focus of art centres, and the premise of exhibitions, performances, and documentary projects. But it is also a tricky topic. […] Increasingly, artists who deal with representing labour also have to navigate the dematerialization of work, and find ways to bring the often-invisible aspects of contemporary labour (from technology to resource exploitation to gendered and racialized work) out into the light.”
“Frei Njootli’s works become sites of contact for ongoing confrontations: friction between the abstract and concrete, Indigenous ways of being and settler-colonial power structures, and demonization and romanticization of Indigenous bodies.”
“While audio and video loop, and motifs around kinship, healing, music, and the rhythms of life recur across his practice, Ukaigwe’s work is anything but repetitive. […] Ukaigwe examines complex social structures through an empathetic lens that is both insatiably curious and persistently community-minded. Ukaigwe’s practice uplifts those around him while also sharing an intimate piece of himself.”