Angelica Mesiti: In the Round

1 Oct 2021-19 Feb 2022

Overview

Talbot Rice Gallery presents the first major exhibition in the UK of Angelica Mesiti, one of the leading Australian artists of her generation.

In the Round builds upon her practice, to take us on a dynamic journey that extends through historical painting, ancient musical notation, geological specimens and musical instruments. Mesiti consistently returns to communication and translation in her sound, performance and video installations, reflecting the struggle of communities to co-exist. Through her selection of the University’s collections, she has delved into nature and deep time, as well as ideas of cycles, resonances and rotation. Taking this unique opportunity to combine present concerns with historical research, Mesiti allows her artworks to echo through ancient objects and to materialise in new works made for this expansive exhibition.

Anchoring this exhibition are the installations Over the Air and Underground (commissioned by the Busan Biennial in 2020), ASSEMBLY (commissioned by the Australian Pavilion of the Venice Biennale in 2019), and Citizens Band (commissioned by ACCA in 2012). These three substantial works offer windows onto different elements of Mesiti’s practice: from the communication of trees and the vision of bees; to the occupation and performance of resistance in the halls of democracy; to the migration of people, customs and music. Her artworks mine histories and perform messages, with sound, vocalisation and percussion running throughout the exhibition.

Alongside over 50 items selected for display, she has also produced three new works in response to these collections: a choral recording of a seventeenth-century score The Bees Madrigal; a photographic work bringing together a sixteenth-century Sea Atlas and a marble landscape, and a sculptural work of etched granite.

Unlocking the potential of the University of Edinburgh's collections to catalyse creative practice, In the Round is an evocative exhibition, where buildings, instruments, plants and collectives of people communicate in ingenious ways, and collections are explored through the lens of an exceptional contemporary artist.

Curated by Angelica Mesiti and Tessa Giblin, Director of Talbot Rice Gallery