Manifesta purposely strives to keep its distance from what are often seen as the dominant centres of artistic production, instead seeking fresh and fertile terrain for the mapping of a new cultural topography.
Joseph Grigely, US
Joseph Grigely, Conversations in Rotterdam, 1996. Photo © Manifesta 1 / Jannes Linders.
Performance at Centrum Beeldende Kunst Rotterdam/Villa Ackermann
Deaf since the age of ten, the American artist Joseph Grigely created a performance piece based on exchanges with visitors to the gallery. He sat in one of the rooms, ready to engage in conversation with anyone passing by. Using various pens and pencils and papers passed back and forth in these conversations with strangers, he created an archive of writings and scribbles that explored the limits of language