Detailed Description

£22

A beautiful new book published on the occasion of the exhibition In the Round – the first major exhibition in the UK of Angelica Mesiti, one of the leading Australian artists of her generation. With newly commissioned essays and conversations by the artist, leading cultural commentators, academics and curator: Emily Doolittle, Tessa Giblin, Jennifer Higgie, Angelica Mesiti, Mihaela Mihai.

Published by Talbot Rice Gallery, University of Edinburgh.

In the Round offers a window 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.

The conversation and essays in this book provide a diverse array of entry points into Mesiti’s practice. Jennifer Higgie’s essay, ‘Mining the Museum’ offers fantastic insight into the artist’s first foray of creating an exhibition around a collection and the new works that were birthed as a result. An exchange between Mesiti and zoomusicologist Emily Doolittle explores the notion of literal and metaphorical ‘resonance’ throughout the exhibition and a shared fascination with non-human methods of communication. ‘A Community Yet to Come’ by Mihaela Mihai provides an in-depth analysis of how Mesiti’s work, visually and aurally, destabilises how we have historically understood democracy, citizenship and representation. Throughout the book are texts focussed on the artworks of Mesiti, and descriptions of nearly 50 items included from University collections.

A sumptuous account of an artist and exhibition hailed by Studio International as “The cumulative intensity of encountering Mesiti’s work is almost like being devoured and […] emerging shaken and stirred, in an aesthetically, emotionally and sensorily altered state.”

Published by Talbot Rice Gallery, edited by Tessa Giblin and Melissa MacRobert

Design by Fraser Muggeridge studio

January, 2022, English

24 x 34 cm, 144 pages, soft cover

ISBN 978-1-8381232-5-3