Chan, JJ, ed. (2019) Momentary Glimpses : An Anthology of Contentedness. London, U.K. : Folium.
Abstract
This publication, conceived as a collection of individual works resembles both an anthology and an exhibition in book form. It is an anthology of new and existing works on contentedness, memory, and identity, spanning the sentiments of live/laugh/love and tainting them from a diverse range of perspectives and contexts. We find, at their darkest and lightest moments that the works cross over into each other. The works, which are presented here as an emotive body, are underscored inevitably by the personal as well as the political. Here we will encounter a quiet voice that can easily become lost in the pool and within the clouds of the contented. Revealing itself leaking from the pages are reflections on the situations and current contexts in which each contributor lives, writes and makes. Amongst these works, Alex Culshaw’s 'postcards', like all postcards, fill the void of an absent person, whilst Ho Sin Tung presents 6 blank pages which mark a calm but restricted absence. This absence, in its silence, represents a loudness, raising questions about surveillance, freedom and protest whilst she joins thousands of campaigners on the streets of Hong Kong. These blank pages lay on top of a short piece of science fiction by London based collective The Idle Institute which revolves around secrets, lying, and the algorithm. Offering some comfort and optimism Fr. Paul Embery writes about feet and faith, only for Laura Dee Milnes’ blunt poetic retelling of a memory from a funeral to squash us into an entirely other contented-discomfort. Each "chapter" when bound together amongst other works will become object-like in a book, desperate to be unbound and laid out with no beginning or end. The replay of a moment can recur over and over, long after that initial encounter, long after it is reconfigured as memory. Momentary Glimpses: An Anthology on Contentedness brings together 27 artists and writers in a collection that offers a response to themes shared with the exhibition, 'A Momentary Glimpse of Absolute Contentedness' by JJ Chan and the accompanying essay, 'Grey Matter' by Johnny Golding. The book includes contributions by Ahaad Alamoudi, Jordan Baseman, Timmy Chen Chih-Ting, Chow Chun Fai, Alex Culshaw, Shaun Doyle, Paul Embery, Chantal Faust, Silas Fong, Rebecca Fortnum, Charlie Gere, Johnny Golding, Ramona Güntert, Matt Hilvers, Adam Hines Green, Ho Sin Tung, Sarah Howe, The Idle Institute, Rebecca Jagoe, Tom Lovelace, Laura Dee Milnes, Sarah Thacker, Will Thompson, WARD, Hermione Wiltshire, and Yim Sui Fong.
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