Nunu Fine Art

Period: 2024/10/5 - 2025/1/26
Opening Ceremony: 10/5 16:00
Artist Talk: 10/10 15:00

“…What happens to an archeological space, the way that we’ve abused it, the way that we consider it, the way that it relates to architectural thought or urbanistic thought of a city – is something that interests me.” – Ishmael Randall-Weeks

Nunu Fine Art Taipei is pleased to present Collective Measure, Ishmael Randall-Weeks’ first solo exhibition with the gallery. Born in 1976 in Cusco, Peru, Randall-Weeks currently resides and works in Lima, Peru.

Cusco, the place where Randall-Weeks grew up, was the capital of the Inca Empire and the center of its commerce, agriculture, and religion. The city’s historic area is now recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Randall-Weeks developed a profound connection to this land during his childhood through play and respect for his vibrant history.

However, since the 1990s, the rise of neoliberal economy and the explosive boom of tourism have gradually altered the relationship between the locals, the land, and the city. He witnessed violent armed conflicts and exploitation of traditional culture through the means of capitalism. Seeking new experiences, he returned to his parents’ homeland, the United States, which sparked his exploration of issues such as class identity, racism, education, and the sociology of space. He also gained a deeper reflection on the concepts of development, progress, and the future.

Randall-Weeks’ work, reflecting on the relationship between architecture and its social context, ranges from site-specific installations, sculptures, and works on paper. By borrowing formal and material bases of everyday elements his work initiates conversations around urbanism, education, and time. The use of construction materials that have been used for centuries—from pre-Columbian cultures to the legacies of Modernism— is part of his interest in engaging in a dialogue about the collective through form and materiality.

Education is a prominent theme in Randall-Week’s work. He once stated in an interview, “The Earth is the world’s largest library, carrying within it millions of years’ worth of knowledge, compared to which we humans have barely existed for the blink of an eye”. Works like Concreto and Carpeta contain books, pencils, chalk and chalkboards - tools that Weeks transforms into symbols of acquiring and dictating knowledge. The books and pencils embedded into the concrete, however, obstruct or contain access to any knowledge hinting at the complexities and power dynamics inherent in it.

Having witnessed the impact of capitalism on indigenous cultures during his formative years, Randall-Weeks continually reflects on the benefits and drawbacks of globalization and urban transformation. Through the creation of intermediary spaces in his work, he aims to project an imagined window where time and geographic differences dissolve, allowing the audience to reconsider the relationship between the past and the present and envision a more equitable political, cultural, and society.

For example, Chalkboard Biombo and Biombo Collective Measure addresses issues of cultural appropriation. The word biombo is a Hispanization of the Japanese byobu, which means “protection from wind.” The first byobus arrived in Latin America in the 17th century and quickly became highly coveted luxury items, leading to the loss of their original purpose of providing wind protection. Randall-Weeks reveals his interest in the thoughtful or ignorant ways in which we approach, use, abuse, and appropriate history and heritage.

The exhibition reveals the artist’s profound interest in and keen attention to architecture and its social and historical contexts. Engaging in a discussion around the characteristics and concepts of space, Randall-Weeks invites us to reflect on how space and time are shaped and organized for future generations. What are we building? And for whom are we building?

For the artist’s debut solo exhibition in Asia, Nunu Fine Art Taipei will hold an opening reception on October 5th, 2024, at 4:00 PM. The artist will be present to personally lead a tour and discuss the works and his creative process.