In this ongoing series, the artist literally poses spoken questions to selected objects as if they were sentient beings able to respond. The installation takes the form of the display of the particular object, and an audio speaker installed above where the audience would ideally be situated in relation to the object on exhibition. Each set of questions is written specifically for that chosen object. No answers are written, given, or suggested, and a pause of approximately 10-seconds is taken between each question.

Started in 2016, this artwork proposes that each object is more than the sum of its parts, and the questions serve to reconsider and complicate the object, transforming the standard conditions of display, and opening up new interpretations and parallel histories and possibilities.

A Series Of Personal Questions

A recorded voice addresses questions to a large Theriac urn formerly used in the Hôtel-Dieu. In this ongoing series, the artist literally poses a series of questions to select inanimate objects as if they were sentient beings able to respond. The installation takes the form of the display of the particular object, e.g. a Theriac urn, and an audio speaker installed above where the audience would ideally be situated in relation to the object on exhibition. The audio speaker broadcasts the series of questions addressed to the object. Time is given between each question for the object to reply, and for the audience to consider their own responses to the questions and the situation.

The artwork proposes that each object is more than the sum of its parts and what it represents, and that each object would have had its own, unique set of experiences. The form of address seeks to honour the object and create a space for it to speak in its own way. The questions - and the audience’s projected answers - furthermore serve to reconsider and complicate the object, transforming the standard conditions of display, and opening up new interpretations and parallel histories and possibilities.

The artwork began in 2016 and has been realised in various locations with various objects. For this edition, commissioned for the 16th Biennale de Lyon, the artist worked with a bronze and pewter Theriac urn from the collection of the Musée des Hospices Civils de Lyon. Theriac was a compound medicine built on a basis of, amongst other things, opium and snake flesh, used throughout Europe for almost 18 centuries. This urn had pride of place in the Lyon’s Hôtel-Dieu, and would have been used to store and dispense what was thought of as the antidote of its day.

The questions were written specifically for this urn, translated into French by Nathalie Bourgeois and Boris Atrux-Tallau, and recorded bilingually by Sylvaine Strike. Recording was done by Dave Langemann.

Note: The audio in this clip is an edited extract of a longer piece. The durations of "silence" between each question are longer in the installation.

Exhibited at Urdla(207 Rue Francis de Pressensé, 69100 Villeurbanne) as part of “Manifesto of Fragility,” curated by Sam Bardouil and Till Fellrath for the 16th Biennale de Lyon in 2022.

Voice: Sylvaine Strike
Full, bilingual French / English duration: 00:49:27

All rights reserved. The copyright for this audio piece is reserved.
Any replication or use of content such as images, audio and texts is not permitted without James Webb's written consent.

Gallery representation:
Galerie Imane Farès, Paris www.imanefares.com
blank projects, Cape Town www.blankprojects.com

A series of personal questions addressed to a Theriac urn formerly used in the Hôtel-Dieu

A recorded voice addresses questions the Museum of Contemporary Art Lyon. In this ongoing series, the artist literally poses a series of questions to select objects and/or space as if they were able to respond. The installation takes the form of the presentation of the particular object/space, e.g. the museum, and an audio speaker installed above where the audience would ideally be situated in relation to the object on exhibition. The audio speaker broadcasts the series of questions addressed to the museum. Time is given between each question for the object to reply, and for the audience to consider their own responses to the questions and the situation.

The artwork proposes that each object is more than the sum of its parts and what it represents, and that each object would have had its own, unique set of experiences. The form of address seeks to honour the object and create a space for it to speak in its own way. The questions - and the audience’s projected answers - furthermore serve to reconsider and complicate the object, transforming the standard conditions of display, and opening up new interpretations and parallel histories and possibilities.

The artwork began in 2016 and has been realised in various locations with various objects. For this edition, commissioned for the 16th Biennale de Lyon, the artist researched the building that is the Museum of Contemporary Art Lyon. This space has a formative connection to the old trade fairs that once occupied the area, and its facade harks back to when the building was the Palais de la Foire. The rest of the building was designed and built by Renzo Piano. The space hosted the 22nd G7 summit, as well as the Biennale of Lyon.

The questions were written specifically for the macLyon, translated into French by Nathalie Bourgeois and Boris Atrux-Tallau, and recorded bilingually by Sylvaine Strike. Recording was done by Dave Langemann.

Note: The audio in this clip is an edited extract of a longer piece. The durations of "silence" between each question are longer in the installation.

Exhibited as part of “Manifesto of Fragility,” curated by Sam Bardouil and Till Fellrath for the 16th Biennale de Lyon in 2022.

Voice: Sylvaine Strike

All rights reserved. The copyright for this audio piece is reserved.
Any replication or use of content such as images, audio and texts is not permitted without James Webb’s written consent.

Gallery representation:
Galerie Imane Farès, Paris www.imanefares.com
blank projects, Cape Town www.blankprojects.com

A series of personal questions addressed to the Museum of Contemporary Art Lyon

A recorded voice addresses questions the city of Lyon. In this ongoing series, the artist literally poses a series of questions to select objects and/or space as if they were able to respond. The installation takes the form of the presentation of the particular object/space, e.g. the museum, and an audio speaker installed above where the audience would ideally be situated in relation to the object on exhibition. The audio speaker broadcasts the series of questions addressed to the museum. Time is given between each question for the object to reply, and for the audience to consider their own responses to the questions and the situation.

The artwork proposes that each object is more than the sum of its parts and what it represents, and that each object would have had its own, unique set of experiences. The form of address seeks to honour the object and create a space for it to speak in its own way. The questions - and the audience’s projected answers - furthermore serve to reconsider and complicate the object, transforming the standard conditions of display, and opening up new interpretations and parallel histories and possibilities.

The artwork began in 2016 and has been realised in various locations with various objects. For this edition, the artist poses questions to the city itself. Lyon, formerly Lugdunum, rests on the confluence of the Rhône and Saône rivers, and has played a central role in the region for centuries. From Roman occupation and medieval religious conflict, to the  industrial boom of the silk trade and the birthplace of cinema, the city is here approached as a complex host of histories and psychologies.

This artwork, conceptually the biggest in the series, is located in two remarkable locations: the Jardin du palais Saint-Pierre, a courtyard garden inside the Musee des Beaux-Arts, and the Parc de la Tête d'Or, the largest urban park in the region. 

The questions were written specifically for the city of Lyon, translated into French by Nathalie Bourgeois and Boris Atrux-Tallau, and recorded bilingually by Sylvaine Strike. Recording was done by Dave Langemann.

Note: The audio in this clip is an edited extract of a longer piece. The durations of "silence" between each question are longer in the installation.

Exhibited as part of “Manifesto of Fragility,” curated by Sam Bardouil and Till Fellrath for the 16th Biennale de Lyon in 2022.

Voice: Sylvaine Strike

All rights reserved. The copyright for this audio piece is reserved.
Any replication or use of content such as images, audio and texts is not permitted without James Webb’s written consent.

Gallery representation:
Galerie Imane Farès, Paris www.imanefares.com
blank projects, Cape Town www.blankprojects.com

A series of personal questions addressed to the city of Lyon as it stands now

A series of personal questions addressed to the Museum of Contemporary Art Lyon_French version

A recorded voice addresses questions the city of Lyon. In this ongoing series, the artist literally poses a series of questions to select objects and/or space as if they were able to respond. The installation takes the form of the presentation of the particular object/space, e.g. the museum, and an audio speaker installed above where the audience would ideally be situated in relation to the object on exhibition. The audio speaker broadcasts the series of questions addressed to the museum. Time is given between each question for the object to reply, and for the audience to consider their own responses to the questions and the situation.

The artwork proposes that each object is more than the sum of its parts and what it represents, and that each object would have had its own, unique set of experiences. The form of address seeks to honour the object and create a space for it to speak in its own way. The questions - and the audience’s projected answers - furthermore serve to reconsider and complicate the object, transforming the standard conditions of display, and opening up new interpretations and parallel histories and possibilities.

The artwork began in 2016 and has been realised in various locations with various objects. For this edition, the artist poses questions to the city itself. Lyon, formerly Lugdunum, rests on the confluence of the Rhône and Saône rivers, and has played a central role in the region for centuries. From Roman occupation and medieval religious conflict, to the industrial boom of the silk trade and the birthplace of cinema, the city is here approached as a complex host of histories and psychologies.

This artwork, conceptually the biggest in the series, is located in two remarkable locations: the Jardin du palais Saint-Pierre, a courtyard garden inside the Musee des Beaux-Arts, and the Parc de la Tête d'Or, the largest urban park in the region.

The questions were written specifically for the city of Lyon, translated into French by Nathalie Bourgeois and Boris Atrux-Tallau, and recorded bilingually by Sylvaine Strike. Recording was done by Dave Langemann.

Note: The audio in this clip is an edited extract of a longer piece. The durations of "silence" between each question are longer in the installation.

Exhibited as part of “Manifesto of Fragility,” curated by Sam Bardouil and Till Fellrath for the 16th Biennale de Lyon in 2022.

Voice: Sylvaine Strike

All rights reserved. The copyright for this audio piece is reserved.
Any replication or use of content such as images, audio and texts is not permitted without James Webb’s written consent.

Gallery representation:
Galerie Imane Farès, Paris www.imanefares.com
blank projects, Cape Town www.blankprojects.com

A series of personal questions addressed to the city of Lyon as it stands now_French version

A recorded voice poses questions to a Hikimawashi kappa travelling cloak.

The installation takes the form of the display of the particular object, e.g. an 19th century Japanese raincoat , and an audio speaker installed above where the audience would ideally be situated in relation to the object on exhibition. The audio speaker broadcasts the series of questions addressed to the object. Time is given between each question for the object to reply, and for the audience to consider their own responses to the questions and the situation.

The artwork proposes that each object is more than the sum of its parts and what it represents, and that each object would have had its own, unique set of experiences. The form of address seeks to honour the object and create a space for it to speak in its own way. The questions - and the audience’s projected answers - furthermore serve to reconsider and complicate the object, transforming the standard conditions of display, and opening up new interpretations and parallel histories and possibilities.

The artwork began in 2016 and has been realised in various locations with various objects. 

Voice: Sylvaine Strike
Research assistant: Amber Moir
Scenographic assistant: Valentin Rolovic for Galerie Imane Farès
English to French translations: Nathalie Bourgeois, Boris Atrux-Tallau
Cape Town studio engineer: Dave Langemann

All rights reserved. The copyright for this audio piece is reserved.
Any replication or use of content such as images, audio and texts is not permitted without James Webb’s written consent.

Collection: Kadist Foundation

Gallery representation:
Galerie Imane Farès, Paris www.imanefares.com
blank projects, Cape Town www.blankprojects.com

A Series Of Personal Questions Addressed To A Hikimawashi Travelling Cloak_French language examples

A Series Of Personal Questions Addressed To A Hikimawashi Travelling Cloak_English language version

A series of personal questions addressed to a Theriac urn formerly used in the Hôtel-Dieu (French)

A recorded voice poses questions to a Hikimawashi kappa travelling cloak.

The installation takes the form of the display of the particular object, e.g. an 19th century Japanese raincoat , and an audio speaker installed above where the audience would ideally be situated in relation to the object on exhibition. The audio speaker broadcasts the series of questions addressed to the object. Time is given between each question for the object to reply, and for the audience to consider their own responses to the questions and the situation.

The artwork proposes that each object is more than the sum of its parts and what it represents, and that each object would have had its own, unique set of experiences. The form of address seeks to honour the object and create a space for it to speak in its own way. The questions - and the audience’s projected answers - furthermore serve to reconsider and complicate the object, transforming the standard conditions of display, and opening up new interpretations and parallel histories and possibilities.

The artwork began in 2016 and has been realised in various locations with various objects.

Voice: Akari Yamasaki
Research assistant: Amber Moir
Scenographic assistant: Valentin Rolovic for Galerie Imane Farès
English to Japanese translations: Akari Yamasaki
Taipei studio engineer: Cheng-Yeh Yang at GloryQueen Studios

All rights reserved. The copyright for this audio piece is reserved.
Any replication or use of content such as images, audio and texts is not permitted without James Webb’s written consent.

Collection: Kadist Foundation

Gallery representation:
Galerie Imane Farès, Paris www.imanefares.com
blank projects, Cape Town www.blankprojects.com

A Series Of Personal Questions Addressed To A Hikimawashi Travelling Cloak

Example of “A series of personal questions addressed to the River Rhine,” 2023. Please note that these are selected, highlighted excerpts of the audio, and the pauses between each question in the installations are longer.

A voice poses questions to the River Rhine.

For the Monheim Triennale, audio speakers have been placed along the riverbanks to broadcast questions addressed directly to the river. Each question lingers in the air with a pause of 12 seconds before the next question is asked.

The Rhine is the second longest river in Central Europe; a source of life in and on the water, and a natural border in the landscape. Affected by trade and settlement over centuries, the river has experienced countless histories, life cycles, and transformations. The Rhine was used as a pathway for Viking exploration, Roman expansion, the propagation of Lutheranism, and the terror of the Malleus Maleficarum. Today, the Rhine is a symbol; a troubled, romantic image; a political player; and a wounded entity that suffers from neglect as much as from human poisoning and industrial waste.

Themes connecting to, amongst others, the river’s timescale, vast ecosystems, memories, and the many myths created around it are explored in the questions. The artwork is ongoing and unfolding with the possibility of further questions being added later.

The Triennale runs in Monheim am Rhein from 3 June to 2 July. For more information, follow @monheimtriennale

The series began in 2016 and this particular version has its conceptual roots in 2017 while on a residency at @ateliermondialart in Basel.
Research was augmented in a writing workshop in March 2023 conducted with members of the Ulla Hahn Haus close to the river.

Curated by Frank Schulte & Kathrin Jentjens
Produced by Lukas Becker. Technical installation by Niklas Werani

English - German translations: Barbara Hess
Proofreader: Bettina Schultz
German voice: Yasmin Hankel
English voice: Victoria Davies
Studio engineer: Dave Langemann

153 questions
Bilingual duration: 01:27:03

Photograph by Niclas Weber

A series of personal questions addressed to the River Rhine_English language examples

A series of personal questions addressed to the River Rhine_German language examples

A voice poses questions to an 18th-century mirror.

In this ongoing series, started in 2016, the artist poses spoken questions to selected objects; in this instance an 18th century mirror. The installation takes the form of the presentation of the chosen object and an audio speaker installed above where the audience are situated situated in relation to the object on display.

A mirror is a place of composition, secret looks, confessions, and rehearsals. We see ourselves looking; our own reflection stares at us, a stranger that is always close by. Mirrors have played a great role in the creation of a social self in our civilization, and their production is connected with trade, wealth, and class. A mirror such as this one would have been a prized possession in the late 18th century and most probably placed in a significant room in a house. 

What might a mirror have witnessed over the course of its life? What are its feelings about what it has had to reflect? Through a series of questions that stir memories and probe details, the artist’s intervention addresses the mirror to develop a speculation on time, power, and desire.

The artwork debuted at Marres, Maastricht, in September 2023, on the group exhibition, “Goodbye to Love.”

English voice: Lesoko Seabe
Dutch voice: Guido Wevers

All rights reserved. The copyright for this audio piece is reserved.
Any replication or use of content such as images, audio and texts is not permitted without James Webb and the recorded participant’s written consent.

Gallery representation:
blank projects, Cape Town www.blankprojects.com
Galerie Imane Farès, Paris www.imanefares.com

A series of personal questions addressed to an 18th-century mirror, previous owner unknown

A series of personal questions addressed to a Viking-age sword

A voice poses questions to a Viking-age sword.

In this ongoing series the artist poses spoken questions to selected objects; in this instance a Viking-age sword unearthed from a cairn in Barkarby in 1931, and now part of the collection of Historiska Museet.

The installation takes the form of the presentation of the sword and an audio speaker installed above where the audience are situated in relation to the object on display.

Swords carried great personal meaning for their owners and, understandably, have become the inspiration for folklore and legend. What might the sword have done, or failed to do in its lifetime? What are its feelings about violence and the use of Viking culture in contemporary images? What might it think its purpose is today? Through a series of 150 questions that stir memories and probe details, the artist’s intervention addresses the sword, opening up themes of power, narrative, and history.

English voice: Brendon Daniels
Recorded at Creative Native, Cape Town

Date of series: 2016 | Date of this edition: 2024
Materials: Viking-age sword (iron, copper, silver), speaker, audio
Dimensions: 70 x 10.3cm (Sword)
Format: Monophonic audio
Duration: 01:21:04
Language: Swedish, English
Sword loaned from Historiska Museet.

Translations: Isabel Sunnerö, Lovisa Tunedal, Anna Palmqvist, Lina Kinning
Proofreading: Bettina Schultz, Lina Kinning, Anna Palmqvist

Research assistance: Dr. Sven Kalmring, Professor Neil Price, Professor Sandra Klopper, Anthea Buys, Linda Qviström, Hannah Lewis, Thobile Ndenze, and Jonathan Olsson.

QR code video designed by Hoick, Cape Town.All rights reserved.

The copyright for this audio piece is reserved.
Any replication or use of content such as images, audio and texts is not permitted without James Webb and the recorded participant’s written consent.

Gallery representation:
blank projects, Cape Town www.blankprojects.com
Galerie Imane Farès, Paris www.imanefares.com

A Series Of Personal Questions Addressed To A Viking-age Sword English Excerpt

A series of personal questions addressed to a Viking-age sword

A voice poses questions to a Viking-age sword.

In this ongoing series the artist poses spoken questions to selected objects; in this instance a Viking-age sword unearthed from a cairn in Barkarby in 1931, and now part of the collection of Historiska Museet.

The installation takes the form of the presentation of the sword and an audio speaker installed above where the audience are situated in relation to the object on display.

Swords carried great personal meaning for their owners and, understandably, have become the inspiration for folklore and legend. What might the sword have done, or failed to do in its lifetime? What are its feelings about violence and the use of Viking culture in contemporary images? What might it think its purpose is today? Through a series of 150 questions that stir memories and probe details, the artist’s intervention addresses the sword, opening up themes of power, narrative, and history.

Swedish voice: Ann Petrén
Recorded at EMS, Stockholm

Date of series: 2016 | Date of this edition: 2024
Materials: Viking-age sword (iron, copper, silver), speaker, audio
Dimensions: 70 x 10.3cm (Sword)
Format: Monophonic audio
Duration: 01:21:04
Language: Swedish, English
Sword loaned from Historiska Museet.

Translations: Isabel Sunnerö, Lovisa Tunedal, Anna Palmqvist, Lina Kinning
Proofreading: Bettina Schultz, Lina Kinning, Anna Palmqvist

Research assistance: Dr. Sven Kalmring, Professor Neil Price, Professor Sandra Klopper, Anthea Buys, Linda Qviström, Hannah Lewis, Thobile Ndenze, and Jonathan Olsson.

QR code video designed by Hoick, Cape Town.All rights reserved. 

The copyright for this audio piece is reserved.
Any replication or use of content such as images, audio and texts is not permitted without James Webb and the recorded participant’s written consent.

Gallery representation:
blank projects, Cape Town www.blankprojects.com
Galerie Imane Farès, Paris www.imanefares.com

A Series Of Personal Questions Addressed To A Viking - Age Sword Swedish Excerpt

A recorded voice addresses questions to a silver Denarius minted in Rome in 70AD. In this ongoing series, the artist literally poses a series of questions to select objects/spaces as if they were able to respond. The installation takes the form of the display of the particular object, e.g. an antique Roman coin, and an audio speaker installed above where the audience would ideally be situated in relation to the object on exhibition. The audio speaker broadcasts the series of questions addressed to the object. Time is given between each question for the object to reply, and for the audience to consider their own responses to the questions and the situation. 

The artwork proposes that each object is more than the sum of its parts and what it represents, and that each object would have had its own, unique set of experiences. The form of address seeks to honour the object and create a space for it to speak in its own way. The questions - and the audience’s projected answers - furthermore serve to reconsider and complicate the object, transforming the standard conditions of display, and opening up new interpretations and parallel histories and possibilities.

The artwork began in 2016 and has been realised in various locations with various objects. For this edition, the artist used PayPal to purchase a two millennia old silver Denarius coin from eBay. It is plausible to think that this coin, minted in the year 70AD, would have been used for all manner of transactions; from buying bread to being used as a bribe, and being part of the empire’s taxation and usury systems. 

The questions were written specifically for this coin, translated into French by Julie Azémar, Bénédicte Delay, Boris Atrux-Tallau, and Line Ajan, and recorded bilingually by Sylvaine Strike. Recording was done by Kyle Leith and Dave Langemann. Thanks to Mia Thom for studio and production assistance; thanks to Samah Slim for installation assistance. Thanks to Lina Kinning. 

Note: The audio in this clip is an edited extract of a longer piece. The durations of "silence" between each question are longer in the installation.

Exhibited as part of “Choose The Universe,” James Webb’s second solo show at Galerie Imane Farès, 5 September - 26 October 2019.

Voice: Sylvaine Strike
Photo by Tadzio

All rights reserved. The copyright for this audio piece is reserved.
Any replication or use of content such as images, audio and texts is not permitted without James Webb’s written consent.

Gallery representation: 
Galerie Imane Farès, Paris www.imanefares.com 
blank projects, Cape Town www.blankprojects.com

A series of personal questions addressed to a Roman coin (2019_French language version

A recorded voice addresses questions to an original 1921 set of Rorschach Psychodiagnostic inkblot cards. 

In this ongoing series, the artist literally poses a series of questions to select objects as if they were able to respond. The installation takes the form of the display of the particular object, e.g. an antique Roman coin, and an audio speaker installed above where the audience would ideally be situated in relation to the object on exhibition. The audio speaker broadcasts the series of questions addressed to the object. Time is given between each question for the object to reply, and for the audience to consider their own responses to the questions and the situation.

The artwork began in 2016 and has been realised in various locations with various objects. The artwork proposes that each object is more than the sum of its parts and what it represents, and that each object would have had its own, unique set of experiences. The form of address seeks to honour the object and create a space for it to speak in its own way. The questions - and the audience’s projected answers - furthermore serve to reconsider and complicate the object, transforming the standard conditions of display, and opening up new interpretations and parallel histories and possibilities.

For this edition, the artist purchased a full set of original 1921 Rorschach Psychodiagnostic plates on eBay. The plates’ carrier box bares a sticker addressed to the United States Army. As the inkblot cards are dated by the 1921 copyright (a year before Hermann Rorschach died), it is plausible to think that the US Army would have used them during the period of 1921 to 1948 before the renewed copyright.

The questions were written specifically for this coin, translated into French by Julie Azémar, Bénédicte Delay, Boris Atrux-Tallau, and Line Ajan, and recorded bilingually by Cedric Leherle. Recording was done by Dave Langemann. Thanks to Mia Thom for studio and production assistance; thanks to Samah Slim for installation assistance. Thanks to Lina Kinning.

Note: The audio in this clip is an edited extract of a longer piece. The durations of "silence" between each question are longer in the installation.

Exhibited as part of “Choose The Universe,” James Webb’s second solo show at Galerie Imane Farès, 5 September - 26 October 2019.

Voice: Cedric Leherle
Photo by Tadzio

All rights reserved. The copyright for this audio piece is reserved.
Any replication or use of content such as images, audio and texts is not permitted without James Webb’s written consent.

Gallery representation: 
Galerie Imane Farès, Paris www.imanefares.com 
blank projects, Cape Town www.blankprojects.com

A series of personal questions addressed to a set of Rorschach Psychodiagnostic plates (2018)

A series of personal questions addressed to a Roman coin (2019)_English version

A recorded voice addresses questions to 5 litres of Nigerian crude oil. In this ongoing series, the artist literally poses a series of questions to select objects as if they were able to respond. The installation takes the form of the display of the particular object, e.g. a glass cube containing Nigerian crude oil, and an audio speaker installed above where the audience would ideally be situated in relation to the object on exhibition. The audio speaker broadcasts the series of questions addressed to the object. Time is given between each question for the object to reply, and for the audience to consider their own responses to the questions and the situation.

The artwork proposes that each object is more than the sum of its parts and what it represents, and that each object would have had its own, unique set of experiences. The form of address seeks to honour the object and create a space for it to speak in its own way. The questions - and the audience’s projected answers - furthermore serve to reconsider and complicate the object, transforming the standard conditions of display, and opening up new interpretations and parallel histories and possibilities.

The artwork began in 2016 and has been realised in various locations with various objects. For this edition, the artist sourced Nigerian crude oil as the object of investigation. At some stage of the earth’s history this oil had many another forms and various other lives. Oil is, in many ways, the psyche of the planet. It has recently been brought to the earth’s surface for use in the world’s economy. The questions seek to expand on all these thoughts and ask the oil what it knows, how it has lived, and what it thinks of the world we are in today.

The questions were recorded by Brendon Daniels. Recording was done by Dave Langemann. Thanks to Hanien Conradie for sourcing the oil. Thanks to Aqua Concepts for the creation of the cube.

Note: The audio in this clip is an edited extract of a longer piece. The durations of "silence" between each question are longer in the installation.

Exhibited as part of “What fresh hell is this,” James Webb’s fifth solo show at blank projects, 19 March - 2 May 2020.

Voice: Brendon Daniels
Photo by Kyle Morland

All rights reserved. The copyright for this audio piece is reserved.
Any replication or use of content such as images, audio and texts is not permitted without James Webb’s written consent.

Gallery representation:
blank projects, Cape Town www.blankprojects.com 
Galerie Imane Farès, Paris www.imanefares.com

A Series Of Personal Questions Addressed To 5 Litres Of Nigerian Crude Oil

James Webb is an artist, recognised for his site-specific interventions and installations. His practice often involves sound, found objects, and text, invoking references to literature, cinema, and the conceptualist traditions. By shifting objects, techniques, and forms beyond their original contexts and introducing them to different environments, Webb creates new spaces of tension. These spaces bind Webb’s background in religion, theatre, and advertising, offering poetic inquiries into the economies of belief and dynamics of communication in our contemporary world.

As Brandon LaBelle writes, “The works of James Webb circulate around a complex mixture of emotional and affective states; of longing and despair, of the ecstatic and of hopefulness, states of bodies and minds that move throughout his practice to raise questions of individuality and community, belonging and displacement, fragmentation and recuperation.” (Xenagogue, edited by Anthea Buys, published by the Hordaland Kunstsenter, 2015.)

Webb has had solo exhibitions at, amongst others, the Art Institute of Chicago, USA (2018); SPACES, Cleveland, USA (2018); Norrtälje Konsthall, Norrtälje, Sweden (2018); Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Wakefield, United Kingdom (2016); Hordaland Kunstsenter, Bergen, Norway (2015); CentroCentro, Madrid, Spain (2013); Johannesburg Art Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa (2012); and mac, Birmingham, United Kingdom (2010).

Major group exhibitions include the 13th Biennial of Dakar (2018), 4th Prospect Triennial of New Orleans (2017), Documenta 14 (2017), 13th Biennial of Sharjah (2017), 12th Bienal de la Habana (2015), 55th Biennale di Venezia (2013), 3rd Marrakech Biennale (2009), Melbourne International Arts Festival (2009), and the 8th Biennale d’Art Contemporain de Lyon (2007). Other notable group shows include  those at spaces such as Wanås Konst and Historiska, Sweden; MAXXI Roma, Italy; Darat al Funun, Jordan; Théâtre Graslin, France; and the Tate Modern, London. 

Webb’s projects have been the subject of the two monographs, “. . .” (blank projects, 2020), and “Xenagogue” (Hordaland Kunstsenter, 2015). 

Impressum: All rights reserved. The copyright for these audio pieces and artworks  are reserved. Any replication or use of the content such as images, audio, and texts is not permitted without James Webb’s written consent.

Gallery representation: 
Galerie Imane Farès, Paris www.imanefares.com 
blank projects, Cape Town www.blankprojects.com

A Series Of Personal Questions

theotherjameswebb