The Residence – Reading Room
Solo exhibition by Vermeir & Heiremans
Parallel to the inaugural presentation of the video installation in Argos, Vermeir & Heiremans presented Reading Room, a discursive platform set up in close collaboration with Extra City, Antwerp. The project was conceived as a format for knowledge production, consisting of a number of public lectures and discussions. Reading Room took place in a display feature that was developed as a performative space for reading and browsing materials, for meeting people, talking, and having a drink.
It presented itself as an evolving cabinet of curiosities that contained a collection of visual and textual materials from the research the artists conducted in preparation of their video project. Reading Room was designed in collaboration with the Chinese architect Ma Wen. The output of the presentations and reading groups were later integrated in an artist publication In-Residence Magazine and first presented at Manifesta 9.
The program consisted of performances, screenings, lectures and book presentations by Justin Bennett, Julia Bryan-Wilson, Bert De Muynck, Liu Ding, Christine Gerrard, Luis Jacob, Carol Yinghua Lu, Daniel McClean, Cuauthemoc Medina, John McTague and Robrecht Vanderbeeken.
The Residence – Reading Room
Vermeir & Heiremans
Extra City Kunsthal, Antwerp
02/02 – 01/04/2012
Reading Room materials:
Pictures and objects (Chinese Joss paper) from the artist’s collection, books, articles, a sound-installation with fictional interviews based on texts from the 18th century related to the financial crisis in 1720, excerpts from the video The residence (a wager for the afterlife), furniture Modular, Reading room furniture consisting of tables, benches and sliding panels (plywood, metal, glass)
Programme content of Reading Room and bios of the participants:
https://extracitykunsthal.org/en/exhibitions/the-residence-reading-room-2
www.extracity.org/en/online_resources/texts
Concept & realisation: Vermeir & Heiremans
Production: Limited editions
Hosted & supported by Extra City, Antwerp (BE)