The Weight of Words at the Henry Moore Institute

The Weight of Words at the Henry Moore Institute, 7th July – 26th November 2023.

 

The Henry Moore Institute, prized for its study and display of sculpture from historical to modern in the heart of Leeds, celebrates thirty years since it opened its doors in 1993. As part of the celebratory annum, the institute presents a group exhibition The Weight of Words. Featuring international and intergenerational contributions from an array of contemporary artists and writers, The Weight of Words explores the relationship between poetry and sculpture.

The exhibition combines the written word and sculpture to create a new space, inviting us to consider the ancient Greek idea of poesis, meaning bringing something into existence that did not exist before. Poetry and sculpture are both invariably members of this pursuit but via the radically different mediums of verbal utterance and physical representation. The intersection between the two looks at the limits of words and objects and then expands those limits to a new dimension. Rather than running parallel to one another, the methods of word and sculpture are celebrated, together, in a shared pursuit of artistic creation.

Contribution to this exhibition varies in interpretation from ‘the humorous to the haunting’ and ‘direct quotations to the unsayable.’ The diameter of sculpting words and poetic sculpture is explored in a myriad of ways. A spectacle of combined vocation.

Each piece, unique in its contribution, asks how and when reading and writing become physical and whether objects have a ‘voice.’ Pavel Büchler focuses on the conceptualisation of words in images and objects with Still Life with Dust. He studied typography in the 1970s and upon coming across an old print workshop found a discernible layer of dust across the letterpress-type blocks and continued to lift the dust onto a dampened sheet creating words from dust particles. Lifting words from a dusted typewriter into the third. Focusing on the poeticism of sculpture where there are no words, artist Issam Kourbaj collaborated with poet Ruth Padel in the Dark Water, Burning World 148 moons and counting…. The anti-monument contains small boats made from bicycle mudguards onto which burnt matches are set in clear resin. Each boat represents the number of months that have passed since the beginning of the Syrian civil war which devastated Kourbaj’s homeland. The boats speak to the refugee crisis and the scale of disruption and tragedy. The creative exchange in this installation finds no words, highlighting the story that can be told through sculpture and the cultural and social perspective that provides a language for that understanding.

Along with these installations are equally unique and interesting contributions from the following poets and artists:  Bhanu Kapil, Caroline Bergvall, Doris Salcedo, Emma Hart, Glenn Ligon, Joo Yeon Park, Leslie Hewitt, Mark Manders, Shanzai Lyric, Shilpa Gupta, Simone Fattal, Slavs and Tatars, Tim Etchells, Anthony (Vahni) Capildeo.

The Henry Moore Institute is hosting a range of events throughout the exhibition, including readings and discussions, workshops, and panels. The upcoming events include:

Anthony (Vahni) Capildeo and Denise Riley

20 September, Sculpture Research Library, 6pm.

Writer and performer, Anthony (Vahni) Capildeo, whose new work is on display on the façade of the Henry Moore Institute is joined by poet, critic and philosopher of language Denise Riley whose writing explores the spectrum of experience, join together in a live poetry reading and discussion on their new work relating to the impact of sculpture on poetry.

The Weight of Words Book Launch

30 September, Sculpture Research Library, 2pm.

An exciting event for the exhibition book launch hosts a panel consisting of Drs Natalie Ferris, Deborah Lewer and Jack Quin to discuss their research into post-war British sculpture, literary and visual interconnections, and interdisciplinary approaches to art history. Followed by a viewing of the gallery accompanied by the exhibition curators Dr Clare O’Dowd and Nick Thurston. The second panel discussion includes artists Dinara Asadulina, Christos Kakouros, and Issam Kourbaj, who have all recently published artists’ books. The discussion will focus on the process of publication and the crossroads between art and literature.

Sam Rose and Mónica de la Torre

4 October, online, 6pm.

Wednesday 4 October 2023 18:00–19:00 (Online)

Art historian, Sam Rose, and poet and critic Mónica de la Torre will join for an online discussion about the cultures of receptions and how those cultures reflect the societies they emerge from. Sam Rose recently published Interpreting Art which looked at the history of interpreting art and how that history shaped art criticism. Mónica de la Torre has worked extensively on the exchanges between artists and poets particularly in the creative spaces between Latin America and North America.

Caroline Bergvall & Vidyan Ravinthiran

18 October, Sculpture Research Library, 6pm.

An in-person poetry reading will be hosted by writer, sound artist and performer Caroline Bergvall, and poet, and editor,  Vidyan Ravinthiran. Caroline Bergvall’s work has explored the shifting connections in culture through plurilingual poetries ad mixed-media installations. Her work features in the exhibition in Say Parsely, an audio-visual installation about the uneasy traffic between local dialects and political history. Vidyan Ravinthiran’s work addresses experiences of postcolonial lie and formal innovation in verse, prose, and criticism. Together they will discuss the intercultural exchange in poetry, art, and criticism.

Lucy Alford and John Douglas Millar

1 November, online, 6pm.

Lucy Alford, a poet invested in the historical and theoretical forms of poetic practice and their relation to social and political life, is joined by John Douglas Millar, a writer who studies the relationship between literature and visual or plastic art, focusing on practises that refused toe be one or the other. Together they will discuss the modes of attention that different art forms invite and what is expected in different contexts of reception.

Lisa Robertson & Mia You

15 November, Sculpture Research Library, 6pm.

A poetry reading followed by a discussion will be held by writers Lisa Robertson and Mia You. Lisa Robertson’s work experiments with genres and form to stretch new directions for political and imaginative thinking, in poetry and prose. Mia You focuses on the power of the lyric and the value of aesthetics applying her experiences as a translator. Together, the discussion will centralise on their recent work and what makes art form thinking and making so interesting.