Gymnasium Projects- Raqs Media Collective

As part of Gymnasium Projects I commissioned New Delhi-based artists Raqs Media Collective to produce a new temporary public work in Lincoln in Summer 2016, along with an exhibition of new prints and previous work at Project Space Plus, at The University of Lincoln.

Both the series of prints – Happen-Stances – and the new sculptural work Perhaps (An Investigation Outside the Laws of Thought) are based on Raqs Media Collective’s study of ‘An Investigation of The Laws of Thought’ a book by the nineteenth century mathematician George Boole. Boole pioneered the concept of ‘logic gates’ using category constellations such as ‘yes’ and ‘no’ that went on to become the foundations of ‘Boolean Logic’ in computer programming. In Happen-Stances, Raqs weaves statements about wealth, possibility, ethics and abundance out of the texture of Boole’s formulations, through the operations of chance.

Perhaps (An Investigation Outside the Laws of Thought) was a large scale sculptural iteration of these interests, sited on the banks of the Brayford Pool, an inland harbour in Lincoln, George Boole’s birthplace. The artists speculated that he must have walked by Brayford Pool, asking questions that needed answers in yes, no, and perhaps, perhaps. The work remembers those moments outside the boundaries of yes and no, just outside the limits placed by the laws of thought.

Raqs Media Collective was founded in 1992 by Jeebesh Bagchi, Monica Narula and Shuddhabrata Segupta who are based in New Delhi, India. Raqs make contemporary art, have made films, curated exhibitions, edited books, staged events, collaborated with architects, computer programmers, writers and theatre directors and have founded processes that have left deep impacts on contemporary culture in India.They have had recent major exhibitions in Madrid, Buenos Aires, Mexico City, St Louis and Boston, took part in the Venice Biennale in 2015 and have been appointed the chief curators for the 2016 Shanghai Biennale.