Taylor Le Melle
Contributions by G, Ima-Abasi Okon, Simon Worthington
Materials from Priya Jay, not/nowhere, Giorno Poetry Systems, Leigh Claire La Berge, PSS
Opening weekend:
Saturday, 5. 9. 2020, 11:00 – 19:00
Sunday, 6. 9. 2020, 12:00 – 17:00
Text exercises is presented by Taylor Le Melle, and organised with Richard Birkett, as part of ‘curated by’ 2020.
As the name suggests, Text exercises issues from a practice of writing, where a framework of language and grammar is yet to be determined. The approach taken is one of ‘exhibition-as-research’ – that is to say, the aim is not to find the thing being looked for and then put it in an exhibition, but rather that putting an object in an exhibition is a way to find the thing being looked for.
The work towards Text exercises is conducted through a set of methodologies, in accordance with the parameters of scale, logistical limitations and the ‘terms of agreement’ that define the working conditions. These methodologies include layering, chopping, directing, and foraging, and are applied to modify or generate texts, objects and sound recordings. The methodologies and what they yield are further defined by the labour time available, determined by Le Melle and Birkett based on the exhibition budget. Text exercises considers the resources to hand as a body of information, traversed by prescribed expectations and forms of exchange.
Taylor Le Melle writes, organises and produces objects. Taylor has written for publications and monographs on and with artists Adam Farah, Helen Cammock, Sophia Al-Maria, Ima-Abasi Okon, Zadie Xa, Evan Ifekoya, Imran Perretta, Aslan Goisum, Jamila Johnson-Small, Melvin Edwards, Torey Thornton, Sola Olulode, Rehana Zaman, and Daniella valz Gen. As the publishing imprint PSS, Taylor has published and edited numerous artists’ books. With not/nowhere, an artist workers’ cooperative, they have organised over 50 workshops and events to provide contemporary artists with training and space to experiment with writing, movement and film.
Richard Birkett is a curator and writer, and currently Curator at Large at the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) in London. From 2017-2019 he worked as Chief Curator at the ICA. Between 2010 and 2016, he was Curator at Artists Space, New York, and co-founded Artists Space Books & Talks in 2012. He has curated projects at organisations including Yale Union, Portland, U.S.; mumok, Vienna, Austria; and the National Gallery of Kosovo, Pristina. He has edited and written for publications including Cosey Complex (Koenig Books, 2012), Bernadette Corporation: 2000 Wasted Years (Koenig Books, 2013) and Tell It To My Heart - Collected by Julie Ault, Volume 2 (Hatje Cantz, 2015), and contributed texts to journals including Afterall, Artforum and Parse.
![](/site/assets/files/2178/felix-gaudlitz_fig-418_2020_text-exercises_installation-view.600x0.jpg?v=5f565231 600w, /site/assets/files/2178/felix-gaudlitz_fig-418_2020_text-exercises_installation-view.900x0.jpg?v=5f565231 900w, /site/assets/files/2178/felix-gaudlitz_fig-418_2020_text-exercises_installation-view.1200x0.jpg?v=5f565232 1200w, /site/assets/files/2178/felix-gaudlitz_fig-418_2020_text-exercises_installation-view.1500x0.jpg?v=5f565232 1500w, /site/assets/files/2178/felix-gaudlitz_fig-418_2020_text-exercises_installation-view.1800x0.jpg?v=5f565233 1800w, /site/assets/files/2178/felix-gaudlitz_fig-418_2020_text-exercises_installation-view.2200x0.jpg?v=5f565234 2200w, /site/assets/files/2178/felix-gaudlitz_fig-418_2020_text-exercises_installation-view.2600x0.jpg?v=5f565235 2600w, /site/assets/files/2178/felix-gaudlitz_fig-418_2020_text-exercises_installation-view.3000x0.jpg?v=5f565236 3000w)
Taylor Le Melle, Text exercises, organized with Richard Birkett, 2020, Installation view, FELIX GAUDLITZ, Vienna
![](/site/assets/files/2179/felix-gaudlitz_fig-419_2020_text-exercises_installation-view-2.600x0.jpg?v=5f5f7377 600w, /site/assets/files/2179/felix-gaudlitz_fig-419_2020_text-exercises_installation-view-2.900x0.jpg?v=5f5f7377 900w, /site/assets/files/2179/felix-gaudlitz_fig-419_2020_text-exercises_installation-view-2.1200x0.jpg?v=5f5f7378 1200w, /site/assets/files/2179/felix-gaudlitz_fig-419_2020_text-exercises_installation-view-2.1500x0.jpg?v=5f5f7379 1500w, /site/assets/files/2179/felix-gaudlitz_fig-419_2020_text-exercises_installation-view-2.1800x0.jpg?v=5f5f737a 1800w, /site/assets/files/2179/felix-gaudlitz_fig-419_2020_text-exercises_installation-view-2.2200x0.jpg?v=5f5f737b 2200w, /site/assets/files/2179/felix-gaudlitz_fig-419_2020_text-exercises_installation-view-2.2600x0.jpg?v=5f5f737d 2600w, /site/assets/files/2179/felix-gaudlitz_fig-419_2020_text-exercises_installation-view-2.3000x0.jpg?v=660e9075 2666w)
Taylor Le Melle, Text exercises, organized with Richard Birkett, 2020, Installation view, FELIX GAUDLITZ, Vienna
![](/site/assets/files/2180/felix-gaudlitz_fig-421_2020_text-exercises_installation-view.600x0.jpg?v=5f565223 600w, /site/assets/files/2180/felix-gaudlitz_fig-421_2020_text-exercises_installation-view.900x0.jpg?v=5f565223 900w, /site/assets/files/2180/felix-gaudlitz_fig-421_2020_text-exercises_installation-view.1200x0.jpg?v=5f565224 1200w, /site/assets/files/2180/felix-gaudlitz_fig-421_2020_text-exercises_installation-view.1500x0.jpg?v=5f565224 1500w, /site/assets/files/2180/felix-gaudlitz_fig-421_2020_text-exercises_installation-view.1800x0.jpg?v=5f565225 1800w, /site/assets/files/2180/felix-gaudlitz_fig-421_2020_text-exercises_installation-view.2200x0.jpg?v=5f565226 2200w, /site/assets/files/2180/felix-gaudlitz_fig-421_2020_text-exercises_installation-view.2600x0.jpg?v=5f565227 2600w, /site/assets/files/2180/felix-gaudlitz_fig-421_2020_text-exercises_installation-view.3000x0.jpg?v=5f565228 3000w)
Taylor Le Melle, Text exercises, organized with Richard Birkett, 2020, Installation view, FELIX GAUDLITZ, Vienna
![](/site/assets/files/2181/felix-gaudlitz_fig-422_2020_text-exercises_installation-view.600x0.jpg?v=5f56521b 600w, /site/assets/files/2181/felix-gaudlitz_fig-422_2020_text-exercises_installation-view.900x0.jpg?v=5f56521c 900w, /site/assets/files/2181/felix-gaudlitz_fig-422_2020_text-exercises_installation-view.1200x0.jpg?v=5f56521c 1200w, /site/assets/files/2181/felix-gaudlitz_fig-422_2020_text-exercises_installation-view.1500x0.jpg?v=5f56521d 1500w, /site/assets/files/2181/felix-gaudlitz_fig-422_2020_text-exercises_installation-view.1800x0.jpg?v=5f56521e 1800w, /site/assets/files/2181/felix-gaudlitz_fig-422_2020_text-exercises_installation-view.2200x0.jpg?v=5f56521f 2200w, /site/assets/files/2181/felix-gaudlitz_fig-422_2020_text-exercises_installation-view.2600x0.jpg?v=5f565221 2600w, /site/assets/files/2181/felix-gaudlitz_fig-422_2020_text-exercises_installation-view.3000x0.jpg?v=5f565222 2666w)
Taylor Le Melle, Text exercises, organized with Richard Birkett, 2020, Installation view, FELIX GAUDLITZ, Vienna
![](/site/assets/files/2182/felix-gaudlitz_fig-423_2020_text-exercises_installation-view.600x0.jpg?v=5f565214 600w, /site/assets/files/2182/felix-gaudlitz_fig-423_2020_text-exercises_installation-view.900x0.jpg?v=5f565215 900w, /site/assets/files/2182/felix-gaudlitz_fig-423_2020_text-exercises_installation-view.1200x0.jpg?v=5f565215 1200w, /site/assets/files/2182/felix-gaudlitz_fig-423_2020_text-exercises_installation-view.1500x0.jpg?v=5f565216 1500w, /site/assets/files/2182/felix-gaudlitz_fig-423_2020_text-exercises_installation-view.1800x0.jpg?v=5f565217 1800w, /site/assets/files/2182/felix-gaudlitz_fig-423_2020_text-exercises_installation-view.2200x0.jpg?v=5f565218 2200w, /site/assets/files/2182/felix-gaudlitz_fig-423_2020_text-exercises_installation-view.2600x0.jpg?v=5f56521a 2600w, /site/assets/files/2182/felix-gaudlitz_fig-423_2020_text-exercises_installation-view.3000x0.jpg?v=5f56521b 2666w)
Taylor Le Melle, Text exercises, organized with Richard Birkett, 2020, Installation view, FELIX GAUDLITZ, Vienna