Art and the Limits of ‘Awareness’ Politics

Sin Wai Kin's Costumes for Dreaming; Watch: Jia Zhangke's 'Dong'; Listen: Arthur Russell's pop music of the future |

View this email in your browser Thresholds of Visibility 'It is now routine to see some exhibition, publication or conference with the word 'decolonising' in the title. You can be fairly certain that little will be done about the existing structures or conditions that produce whatever violent practices are being instrumentalised as the framework for the event', writes M. Neelika Jayawardane, who takes aim at the artworld's fetish for 'raising awareness'. 'For audiences, passively consuming trauma under the banner of activism – and as part of the methodology of decolonial practice – leads neither to structural change nor justice.' On the cover of ArtReview's November issue is artist Sin Wai Kin, who has been upending gender essentialism via their drag queen personas over the past decade. But in their most recent work, writes Skye Sherwin, Sin's personas increasingly 'strike beyond the binaries of gender, to shake up reality on a grand scale' – a narrative strategy that echoes Ursula Le Guin's 'carrier bag' theory of fiction, 'its components left to jostle side by side, free from the prescribed journey and conclusions more linear tales might force us to take.' Elsewhere on artreview.com: a special screening of Dong (2006), a documentary portrait of the painter Liu Xiaodong by the leading light of China's 'Sixth Generation' filmmakers, Jia Zhangke; on our latest podcast, artist and author Matt Marble discusses the esoteric philosophies and sounds of Arthur Russell; Danielle Thom on why rococo has returned; Yalda Bidshahri on Michael Rakowitz's reconstructions of Assyrian heritage; and much more. En Liang Khong, Director of Digital Raising Unawareness M. Neelika Jayawardane reflects on Guantánamo, this year's Berlin Biennale controversy surrounding Jean-Jacques Lebel's Poison Soluble (2013), and the artworld's tendency for shallow political consciousness. read now Dreaming of Me "My reality seems like a made up fantasy for some people", the artist Sin Wai Kin tells Skye Sherwin in ArtReview November's cover profile. "We are living in a world where many different realities coexist." read now Jia Zhangke, Dong (2006) The new edition of Art Lovers Movie Club follows artist Liu Xiaodong as he paints a group of labourers near the Three Gorges Dam on the banks of Fengjie, a city slowly being swallowed by the Yangtze River – deconstructing an area under deconstruction. stream now Pop Music of the Future The latest episode of Subject, Object, Verb is a conversation between Ross Simonini and writer Matt Marble on the composer Arthur Russell, unpacking Russell's philosophical perspectives on non-dualism, Buddhism and disco music. listen now The Return of Rococo Three centuries after it's original incarnation, Danielle Thom sees its charming, grotesque forms in everything from the high camp of art fair booths and beribboned gowns on the catwalk to the 'avant basic' aesthetic of Instagram influencers. read now Tender Revival Michael Rakowitz's The invisible enemy should not exist… at Green Art Gallery, Dubai – as reviewed by Yalda Bidshahri – is a sensitive reconstruction of ancient Iraqi history that offers something beyond nostalgia. read now Chaotic Spirals, Dystopian Flourishes The 16th Biennale de Lyon, manifesto of fragility, exploits the locale's peculiar urban pattern – former industrial quarters, implausibly steep hills and haut-bourgeois enclaves – with mixed but, for Digby Warde-Aldam, largely positive results. read now Contrasting Fortunes Kamila Shamsie's eighth novel, Best of Friends, is a tale of contrasts, as reviewed by Toby Lichtig: England and Pakistan; public and private; personal and political; ideology and opportunism; rich and … well, not quite so rich. read now Talk: The Future of Art Patronage What will patronage mean in the context of blockchain innovation and decentralisation? Join Sylvain Levy, Whale Shark and Sydney Xiong in this online panel discussion – moderated by J.J. Charlesworth. RSVP Not subscribed yet? Sign up to ArtReview's newsletters © 2022 ArtReview Ltd. All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in at www.artreview.com or the previous digital magazine website Our mailing address is: ArtReview Ltd. 1 Honduras Street London, England EC1Y 0TH United Kingdom Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.