Angelica Mesiti is one of the leading Australian artists of her generation. This beautiful book coincides with her first major exhibition in the UK, at the Talbot Rice Gallery.
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 - by the artist, leading cultural commentators, academics and the exhibition curator - provide a diverse array of entry points into Mesiti’s practice.
This richly illustrated catalogue is a kaleidoscopic tapestry of the artists own work alongside almost 50 items from across the University of Edinburgh’s vast collections.
Angelica Mesiti’s previous solo exhibitions include Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Ta¯maki, Auckland, NZ (2020); Australian Pavilion, 58th International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, Venice, IT (2019); Palais de Tokyo, Paris, FR (2019); Art Sonje Centre, Seoul, SKR (2018); O Space, Aarhus, DK (2017); Nikolaj Kunsthal, Copenhagen, DK (2015); Muse´e d’Art Contemporain de Montre´al, Montre´al, CA (2014). Recent group exhibitions include The Musical Brain, High Line, New York, USA (2021); A Story for the Future, Fondazione MAXXI, Rome, IT (2021); Words at an Exhibition, Busan Biennale, Busan, SKR (2020); The Future of Silence, Nam June Paik Art Centre, Yongin, SKR (2020); Time Cubism, Gwangju Museum of Art, Gwangju, SKR (2019); Divided Worlds, Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art, Adelaide, AU (2018); You Imagine What You Desire, 19th Biennale of Sydney, Sydney, AU (2014); Mom, am I barbarian?, 13th Istanbul Biennial, Istanbul, TR (2013); Re:emerge, Towards a New Cultural Cartography, 11th Sharjah Biennale, Sharjah, UAE (2013). Her major works include ASSEMBLY (2019), commissioned for the 58th Biennale di Venezia; Mother Tongue (2017), a commissioned for the European Capital of Culture, Aarhus (2017); Relay League (2016), and The Colour of Saying (2015). She lives and works in Paris and Sydney.
Tessa Giblin is the Director of Talbot Rice Gallery at the University of Edinburgh, where she holds a Personal Chair in Contemporary Curating with Edinburgh College of Art. She has recently curated solo exhibitions of Angelica Mesiti, Emeka Ogboh, Samson Young, Lucy Skaer, David Claerbout and Jesse Jones. She was commissioner and curator of Jesse Jones’ Tremble Tremble for Ireland at the 57th Biennale di Venezia (2017), which has since continued to tour internationally. She is part of the acquisitions committee of the Frac Bretagne 2020–2022, and from 2006–2016 was Curator of Project Arts Centre in Dublin, Ireland.
Mihaela Mihai is Senior Lecturer in Political Theory at the University of Edinburgh
Tessa Giblin is the Director of Talbot Rice Gallery at the University of Edinburgh, where she holds a Personal Chair in Contemporary Curating with Edinburgh College of Art. She has recently curated solo exhibitions of Angelica Mesiti, Emeka Ogboh, Samson Young, Lucy Skaer, David Claerbout and Jesse Jones. She was commissioner and curator of Jesse Jones’ Tremble Tremble for Ireland at the 57th Biennale di Venezia (2017), which has since continued to tour internationally. She is part of the acquisitions committee of the Frac Bretagne 2020–2022, and from 2006–2016 was Curator of Project Arts Centre in Dublin, Ireland.
Melissa MacRobert is Deputy Director at Talbot Rice Gallery. With a focus on project management, artist commissions, research and touring - she has produced exhibitions with Angelica Mesiti, Emeka Ogboh, Samson Young, Myriam Lefkowitz and Lucy Skaer in addition to various major international group exhibitions including The Normal, Pine’s Eye, Borderlines and At the Gates. She was co-editor of Emeka Ogboh Song of the Union (Talbot Rice Gallery, 2021) and has co-ordinated a number of artist publications including Ken Price A Survey of Sculptures and Drawings (H&W Publishers/DelMonico Prestel, 2017); Guillermo Kuitca (H&W Publishers/Snoeck, 2016); Phyllida Barlow Fifty Years of Drawings (JRP Ringier, 2014); Takesada Matsutani A Matrix (JRP Ringier, 2013).
