Gossip, Scandal and Good Manners
Works by Ulises Carrión
Gossip, Scandal and Good Manners is a project based on the work of Mexican artist, writer and publisher, Ulises Carrión (1941-1989). Comprising of an exhibition, series of events and publication, the project aims to reanimate Carrión’s practice for a contemporary audience in a way that reflects his own ideas, methodologies and idiosyncrasies.
Carrión, whose work has rarely been shown in the UK, emerged out of Fluxus and concrete poetry circles in his native country before moving to Europe in the mid-1960s. His diverse practice is underpinned by a concern with alternative strategies of distribution and communication. As such, he promoted a transnational dialogue prior to the inception of the Internet with his mail art projects and initiatives such as Other Books and So, which was active in Amsterdam from 1975 to 1978 and subsequently became an archive. This informal space for exhibitions, performances, collaborations and the making and publishing of artists’ books also served as a meeting point for artists and publishers. Alongside his commitment to self-publishing, he was also one of the first to theorise on artists’ books.
This project is curated by the first year MA Curating Contemporary Art at the Royal College of Art in collaboration with Martha Hellion, with the kind support of the Monique Beudert fund.
