Cover Image: Abbas Akhavan, Kids, Cats, and 1 Dog, paint on rooftop, installation view FLORA arts+natura, Bogota, Colombia, Photo: Gonzalo Angarita, Courtesy: Catriona Jeffries, Vancouver.
COUNTER-TEXTs: Language in Contemporary Art (Reaktion BOOKs, 2022)
In Counter-Texts, Kim Dhillon provides a much-needed critical reassessment of language in contemporary art. Considering the politics, aesthetics and ethics of language, Dhillon explores artworks that use language, with a particular focus on works that challenge dominant narratives or which reveal, in visual form, the many systems of oppression hidden within the structure of language. Featuring the works of many artists from diverse backgrounds, including artists such as Serena Lee, Alisha B. Wormsley and Joi T. Arcand alongside figures such as Glenn Ligon, Brian Jungen and Susan Hiller, Dhillon rewrites the understanding of text in contemporary visual art. Counter-Texts explores how and why visual artists use written language, and interrogates the power held in words.
Advance Praise for Counter-Texts:
Counter-Texts is a necessary and compelling examination of how words and language can disrupt the status-quo and challenge power through dynamic artistic media. It’s a thorough look at altering public space and discourse through crucial diverse perspectives, particularly revolutionary anti-colonial artistic practices that educate and empower to create space for the voices that need to be heard. - Waubgeshig Rice, author of Moon of the Crusted Snow.
An important resource for scholars and artists, Kim Dhillon’s book asks questions that are timely about whose voice is given power to speak, and what can be collectively learned from histories that are spoken from below. - Sutapa Biswas, artist.
Available to buy in the US and Canada from University of Chicago Press.
Available to buy in the US and Canada from Barnes and Nobel.