Archaeology of Longing (Archéologie de la Chine)
Archaeology of Longing (Archéologie de la Chine) September 20 – November 9, 2008 Curator: Sofía Hernández Chong Cuy, in residence at Kadist Art Foundation, Paris. With a title drawn from a short story by Susan Sontag, “Archaeology of Longing (Archéologie de la Chine)” is an exhibition bringing together a number of artworks, artifacts, and common objects. It begins as an investigation into disenchantment, soon digressing through the historical flatlands of interpretation and substitution. Far from melancholic, and closer to what can be described as politically intimate, the exhibition is an inventory of that journey. Archaeology of Longing includes artwork by Alejandro Cesarco, Luca Frei, Emma Hedditch, Bethan Huws, Fabio Kacero, Rober Racine, Kay Rosen, Katerina Šedá, Joe Scanlan and Lisa Tan; artifacts and objects on loan by several contributors, including Tania Bruguera and Archives Erik Satie; and exhibition furniture designed by Tomás Alonso. A collection of findings uncovered during the archaeology of longing is also available as a publication titled “84 handkerchiefs, an umbrella and some books”.