Ungovernables

The Ungovernables captures the perspectives, preoccupations, and experiences of an inventive and informed generation born from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s- a generation who came of age in the aftermath of the independence and revolutionary movements that promised to topple Western colonialism but became mired in military dictatorships, the emergence of integrated world capitalism, regional and global economic crises, the rise of fundamentalism, and international interventions and failures to intervene. Faced with this somewhat bleak inheritance, artists in The Ungovernables embrace their complex relationship to history and assert a remarkable patience, pragmatism, and resolve in their work. The volume accompanying this important exhibition features thirty-four artists and artist collectives working in painting, sculpture, drawing, performance, video, and other activities. Through explorations of form, objecthood, material, and temporality, artists in The Ungovernables negotiate time and their experience of our contemporary moment, often demonstrating a profound mistrust of permanence. Many of the works are provisional, site-specific, and performative, reflecting an attitude of possibility and faith in the contingent nature of our time.§The book includes a substantive essay on this international group of artists by curator Eungie Joo, essays and other contributions from many of the artists featured in the exhibition, as well as short profiles on each.