Joyce Wieland: A Clutter of Love

21 January - 21 May, 2023

Curated by Darryn Doull

Dear Joyce,

You continue to inspire us. Your groundbreaking oeuvre playfully complicates our understandings of nationalism, at a time when the flag itself has been instrumentalized for ulterior motivations. The call for reason over passion is perhaps even more important now than ever before. Or maybe we just need a more impassioned reason.

Looking around, great disruptions continue to establish new forms (of collectivity, governance, and understanding of the land) despite a bruised hope for the future. They beckon for greater respect of our neighbours and the world around us, much like your own pioneering work did throughout your life.

I wish you could see how far the rhythmic beating of protesting feet echo today. The solidarity is something deeply felt, like the pulsing of blood in your ears on a quiet night. A collective reassessment of the terms of employment continues to bloom. The people rally against those who have taken so much and returned so little to the shared project of humanity.

We reach to kiss the present goodbye: we cannot stay in one place for too long without embracing complacency, wasting our time. In part, and with good humour, we remember this from you.

Yours, with a clutter of love,
Darryn