The mouth, like a port, is an opening. A place of first contact with the outside. It regulates two ways of traffic: import (often oxygen, food) and export (often language, carbon dioxide).
Whilst the opening and closing of the mouth can be deliberately controlled, the stomach knows what the mouth does not. The mouth pays lip service to representation. The stomach diligently works substance, prepping it to be radically transformed. In this, the stomach is a model of production, in continuous interaction with the exterior.
The stomach can be thought of as the port to the gut, a site where the outside environment comes to dock. Here, organic chemistry, social ritual and roles, as well as economic power truly interact, before valuable content is clearly separated from waste: it is a primary site of active, yet paced transition. A stomach can’t ignore so-called foreignness and needs to engage with it, either by prepping it to transition into the body cells, or by slowly deciding to send it back to the mouth.
The stomach, like the heart, is a muscle. It is the place where what we ingest becomes part of our bodies: substances are slowly transformed by muscular mechanics and chemistry. When our bodies are distressed our stomachs act up: their chemical balance directly corresponds to our emotional balance. Yet, inversely, who hasn’t felt butterflies in their belly when feeling elated? The stomach is the locus of true physical feeling and of metaphoric mood.
Liverpool’s port embodies intensified circulation and necessary interaction: as the world´s first commercial wet dock, it stands for the movement of physical goods, the transport and separation of bodies, protection, control and connection, as well as for incessant exchange of information and knowledges. There is production, invention, and resistance despite imposition and restriction.
Through the stomach, we zoom into the back-and-forths of that production: the minute muscular movements that develop – such as rhythm, gesture, and mobile forms of knowledge – despite the mandate to separate, dominate, standardise and streamline.
This communiqué is written by Sarah Demeuse and is the first of a three-part episodic series set to culminate in Autumn 2020. Read the second entry in the series ‘Porosity’
The 11th edition of Liverpool Biennial “The Stomach and the Port” was scheduled to take place in 2020 but was postponed due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The Biennial was rescheduled to 2021, and delivered as originally conceived but responsive to the new context – curated by Manuela Moscoso, with the artist list announced in November 2019.
The mouth, like a port, is an opening. A place of first contact with the outside. It regulates two ways of traffic: import (often oxygen, food) and export (often language, carbon dioxide). Whilst the opening and closing of the mouth can be deliberately controlled, the stomach knows what the mouth does not. The mouth pays lip service to representation. The stomach diligently works substance, prepping it to be radically transformed. In this, the stomach is a model of production, in continuous interaction with the exterior.
The stomach can be thought of as the port to the gut, a site where the outside environment comes to dock. Here, organic chemistry, social ritual and roles, as well as economic power truly interact, before valuable content is clearly separated from waste: it is a primary site of active, yet paced transition. A stomach can’t ignore so-called foreignness and needs to engage with it, either by prepping it to transition into the body cells, or by slowly deciding to send it back to the mouth.
The stomach, like the heart, is a muscle. It is the place where what we ingest becomes part of our bodies: substances are slowly transformed by muscular mechanics and chemistry. When our bodies are distressed our stomachs act up: their chemical balance directly corresponds to our emotional balance. Yet, inversely, who hasn’t felt butterflies in their belly when feeling elated? The stomach is the locus of true physical feeling and of metaphoric mood.
Liverpool’s port embodies intensified circulation and necessary interaction: as the world´s first commercial wet dock, it stands for the movement of physical goods, the transport and separation of bodies, protection, control and connection, as well as for incessant exchange of information and knowledges. There is production, invention, and resistance despite imposition and restriction.
Through the stomach, we zoom into the back-and-forths of that production: the minute muscular movements that develop – such as rhythm, gesture, and mobile forms of knowledge – despite the mandate to separate, dominate, standardise and streamline.
This communiqué is written by Sarah Demeuse and is the first of a three-part episodic series set to culminate in Autumn 2020. Read the second entry in the series ‘Porosity’ here.
The 11th edition of Liverpool Biennial: ‘The Stomach and the Port’ was scheduled to take place in 2020 but was postponed due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The 11th edition was rescheduled to 2021 and the programme was delivered as originally conceived but responsive to the new context.
Curatorial Tours below:
VR walkthroughs below:
Bluecoat: click here
FACT Liverpool: B.O.S.S click here and Zheng Bo click here
Open Eye Gallery: click here
Tate Liverpool: click here
Cotton Exchange: click here
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Building: click here
Lewis’s Building: Ground floor – click here
Lewis’s Building: Floor 2 – click here
Lewis’s Building: Floor 3 – click here
Liverpool Central Library: click here
Lush Building: click here
In this edition
LB2021: Highlights
Curated by Manuela Moscoso, the 11th edition asks the questions: what is a body? what does it mean to be human? Set against the backdrop of Liverpool’s colonial history as a port city, this biennial presents 9 exhibitions in iconic sites including the Lewis’s Building, Dr Martin Luther King, Jr. Building, the Lush Building, Liverpool Central Library, Cotton Exchange, Tate Liverpool, FACT, Open Eye and Bluecoat, alongside 7 outdoor sculptures and 5 sonic and digital commissions.
In Conversation: Dr. Samantha Lackey & Manuela Moscoso
LB2021: Trailer
LB2021: ‘Inside’ Chapter Launch
LB2021: ‘Outside’ Chapter Launch
To celebrate Liverpool’s iconic architecture and public spaces, a new series of outdoor sculptures and installations is now waiting be discovered at strategic sites across the city’s centre.
Commissions include Rashid Johnson’s Stacked Heads (2020) at Canning Dock Quayside; Teresa Solar’s Osteoclast (I do not know how I came to be on board this ship, this navel of my ark) (2021) at Exchange Flags; Linder’s Bower of Bliss (2021) at Liverpool ONE and Jorgge Menna Barreto’s mural Mauvais Alphabet (2021) on the side of Bluecoat. Presiding over the city, Larry Achiampong’s Pan African For the Relic Travellers’ Alliance can be found across ten locations, including St. George’s Hall, St. John’s Gardens, Central Library, Exchange Flags, Liverpool Parish Church, Dr Martin Luther King Jr. building, Edmund Gardener Vessel, Cunard Building, St. Luke’s Church and Liverpool ONE.
Local residents can safely experience these inspiring new additions to the city’s landscape, while observing COVID-19 guidance, including social distancing at all times and wearing appropriate face coverings.
Video: Carl Davies, FACT Production Services
LB2021: Programme Launch
Liverpool Biennial announces the full programme for the 11th edition: The Stomach and the Port.
Taking over unexpected and public spaces, historic sites and art galleries, the Biennial has been transforming the city through art for over two decades. The 11th edition, The Stomach and the Port, explores notions of the body and ways of connecting with the world. 50 international artists and two collectives are taking part in this year’s Biennial. A dynamic programme of free exhibitions, performances, screenings and fringe events unfolds over the 12 weeks, shining a light on the city’s vibrant cultural scene. Liverpool Biennial: The Stomach and the Port is curated by Manuela Moscoso.
Film by Carl Davies, FACT Video Production Services
Entry I: The Stomach
Entry II Porosity
Entry III: Kinship
Podcast: Art Against the World
Presenter, Vid Simoniti
Can art change the world? In this six-part podcast series, we meet ten LB2021 artists, whose work responds to pressing issues such as the climate catastrophe, our changing bodies and legacies of colonialism. Hosted by Vid Simoniti. University of Liverpool / Liverpool Biennial co-production.
Introduction from Vid Simoniti
Contemporary art is the most politically committed of the arts, but it can also be experimental and hard to grasp. This paradox has always troubled me. In this six-part podcast series, I try to dispel some of contemporary art’s mystique, while staying true to art’s enticing complexity.
Across six episodes, I interview some of the artists showing at the Liverpool Biennial 2021. From environmental art in Brazil, to portraits of gang members in Jamaica; from legacies of colonialism in the UK, to social media photography in India: the themes we discuss span the globe.
While these political contexts are diverse, I am struck by how many artists today weave their beauty out of highly challenging situations. Sometimes their work is touching, at other times darkly humorous, but all of it shows the need for imagination in difficult times.
But don’t just take my word for it. All worthwhile art demands a critical response—and I hope you will make up your own mind about the artworks we discuss.
The Liverpool Biennial “Art Against the World” podcast is scripted and hosted by Vid Simoniti. It is a University of Liverpool / Liverpool Biennial co-production. Sound design is by Luke Thomas.
Episode 1: Violence
How can artists show violence with sensitivity? Painter Ebony G Patterson discusses her portraits of gang members in Jamaica. Photographer Sohrab Hura explains his response to social media violence in India. We are joined by curator Catalina Lozano whose interests and curatorial practice have been increasingly involved with historical research within contemporary art. She is particularly interested in minor narratives and the revision of dominant historical narratives.
Episode 2: Forest
How can art respond to ecological challenges? Jorge Menna Barreto relates how his “stomach sculpture” protects the Amazon rainforest, and video artist Bo Zheng discusses whether we can have sex with plants. We are joined by curator Margarida Mendes whose research explores the overlap between infrastructure, ecology, experimental film and sound practices – investigating environmental transformations and their impact on societal structures and cultural production. Presenter Vid Simoniti.
Episode 3: Transitions
On art that reflects our changing bodies. Pedro Neves Marques’ film raises the possibility of male pregnancies; Ane Graff’s sculptures show how our bodies adapt to pollution. We are joined by curator Chus Martinez, whose curatorial practice is that of generosity, expressed through different techniques of care such as listening and voicing. Presented by Vid Simoniti.
Episode 4: The Port
Art that portrays seas and migration. Alberta Whittle’s new video unearths links between climate change and colonialism.Invernomuto’s sound installation traces the influences of the Black diaspora on the Mediterranean culture. We are joined by lecturer in Visual Cultures at Goldsmiths, independent curator, and member of the Thought Council at the Fondazione Prada, Elvira Dyangani Ose. Presented by Vid Simoniti.
Episode 5: Speculation
Art that imagines alternative futures and pasts. Artist Larry Achiampong discusses the legacies of Afrofuturism today, while Luisa Ungar’s debates the role of fiction in the archive. We are joined by the critic Pablo Larios. Presented by Vid Simoniti.
Episode 6: What is a Biennial?
How do biennial curators weave a narrative out of diverse artworks? Liverpool Biennial Director Sam Lackey shares her experience; curator Manuela Moscoso discusses the process behind conceiving and delivering our 11th edition, The Stomach & the Port. Presented by Vid Simoniti.
Vid Simoniti is a Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Liverpool, where he also runs MA Art, Philosophy and Cultural Institutions. He has published on socially engaged art, art and technology, and the work of Adrian Piper. | @VidSimoniti