Mary Kelly's compressed lint work 'Beirut, 1970' (2017) is currently on view at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (@icala) as part of the exhibition 'The Condition of Being Addressable' that runs from 18 June to 4 September 2022.
The exhibition borrows its title from a passage in Claudia Rankine’s critically acclaimed 2014 book, 'Citizen: An American Lyric', in which the poet and essayist outlines the ways in which written or spoken language can frame and impact perception and lived experience, particularly for marginalised subjects. Featuring works in painting, photography, sculpture, video, and installation from the 1970s to the present, 'The Condition of Being Addressable' centres diverse disciplines and perspectives in a rich creative discourse rooted in the legacies of Black, feminist, post-colonial, and queer theory.
'Beirut, 1970' belongs to Kelly's 'News From Home' trilogy, in which letters from Kelly's personal archives are presented in this unique medium that prompts reflection on memory and the passing of time through the slow accumulation of lint.
Kelly will also be involved in a roundtable discussion on 13 July 2022 at 6pm (PDT) alongside co-curators Marcelle Joseph and Legacy Russell, and artists Lynn Hershman Leeson, E. Jane, Imran Perretta, and Zadie Xa.
Mary Kelly at the ICA LA
'Beirut, 1970' (2017) is included in the exhibition 'The Condition of Being Addressable'
Mary Kelly, 'Beirut, 1970', 2017
18 June 2022
