Jingwei Bu, Words Reader, 2021 performance video with sound, 1:03 minutes, looping play. Still image courtesy of the artist.
Reading between
City Library SALA Exhibition
1 August - 30 September 2022
Elyas Alavi, Jingwei Bu, Sonja Porcaro,Ida Sophia, and Inneke Taal
A single sentence can have a multitude of elusive meanings. The same is also true when reading a work of art. The idiom ‘to read between the lines’ means to find implied connotations rather than what is explicitly stated. The exhibition, Reading between, examines the use of language by local contemporary artists as both a medium within their work and a strategy for creating a dialogue with the audience. Language holds our collective thoughts and memories, carries culture, and imparts wisdom. It is also important to acknowledge that language can be used, intentionally and unintentionally, to exclude. The artworks featured in Reading between, welcome multiple readings and perspectives. Instead of providing answers, the artists encourage the audience to ask questions and reflect on what is often unwritten and unspoken. Language is beautifully elusive, fallible, and unstable, but it is also how we seek to understand one another.
Suzanne Close was the 2022 City of Adelaide SALA Emerging Curator and presented 'Reading Between' in the City Library during SALA 2022.
Jingwei Bu, 'The Tones of Time' (install virew), 2021–2022, 192 x 30 cm, 4 pieces, Chinese ink on raw canvas. Photography by Tom Blackman.
Elyas Alavi, 'HANG' Iinstallation view', 2014-2022 (ongoing series), Oil on found newspapers, dimension variable. Photography by Tom Blackman.
Sonja Porcaro, 'Between then and now, between you and me: the sunrise, the sunset, the city' (installation view). 2020-2021 Sound work 5 min 35 sec loop, linen-bound artist book, textile work. Photography by Tom Blackman.
Ida Sophia, 'Artist's Journals' (install view), 2018-2021. Photography by Tom Blackman.
Sonja Porcaro, 'Language loops' (installation view), 2022, Felt, wood and wire. Photography by Tom Blackman.
Ida Sophia. 'Votivo', 2019–2022 Durational Performance, photography by Thomas McCammon. Installation photography by Tom Blackman.
Ida Sophia, Hand-written instructions for Votivo, 2019–2022, Durational Performance. Photography by Tom Blackman.
Jingwei Bu in front of her work, 'Words reader', 2021, Performance video with sound, 1.03 minutes, looping play. Photography by Tom Blackman.
Sonja Porcaro, 'Between then and now, between you and me: the sunrise, the sunset, the city' (installation view). 2020-2021 Sound work 5 min 35 sec loop, linen-bound artist book, textile work. Photography by Tom Blackman.
Installation view including Elyas Alavi's poems; Inneke Taal, 'replay', 2020, moving image, 1:11 mins; Elyas Alavi, 'HANG', 2014-2022 (ongoing series), Oil on found newspapers, dimension variable. Photography by Tom Blackman.
Reading between opening speeches. Photography by Tom Blackman.
Sonja Porcaro, 'Language loops' (installation view), 2022, Felt, wood and wire. Photography by Tom Blackman.
Elyas Alavi, 'HANG' (installation view), 2014-2022 (ongoing series), Oil on found newspapers, dimension variable. Photography by Tom Blackman.
Jingwei Bu, 'Connecting the Connections' (install view), 2022 (ongoing), Tea and pencil on wooden painting board, 70 x 120 cm. Photography by Tom Blackman.
Inneke Taal, 'paper and:as structure; (installation view), 2018, Paper, improvised supports, video camera [video and photography stills; reel excerpts of moving images. Photography by Tom Blackman.
Sonja Porcaro, 'Between then and now, between you and me: the sunrise, the sunset, the city' (detail). 2020-2021 Sound work 5 min 35 sec loop, linen-bound artist book, textile work. Photography by Tom Blackman.
Sonja Porcaro, 'Between then and now, between you and me: the sunrise, the sunset, the city' (installation view). 2020-2021 Sound work 5 min 35 sec loop, linen-bound artist book, textile work. Photography by Tom Blackman.
Supported by the City of Adelaide, City Library and SALA