18 January 2013
THE UNIVERSAL ADDRESSABILITY OF DUMB THINGS
Curated By Mark Leckey
the Bluecoat, Liverpool
16 February – 14 April 2013
Turner-prize winning artist Mark Leckey curates The Universal Addressability of Dumb Things, the
latest of Hayward Touring's artist-curated exhibitions. Opening at the Bluecoat, Liverpool on 16
February 2013, the exhibition includes work by Thomas Bayrle, Louise Bourgeois, William Blake,
Prunella Clough, Jim Shaw and Tøyen.
The Universal Addressability of Dumb Things explores the tenuous boundaries between virtual and
real worlds. As modern technology becomes ever more sophisticated and pervasive, objects
communicate with us: phones talk back, refrigerators suggest recipes and websites anticipate our
desires. This exhibition explores the concept of techno-animism, whereby the inanimate seemingly
comes to life. Through a conceptual assemblage of archaeological artefacts, contemporary artworks
and visionary machines, Mark Leckey creates a network of objects - communicating, talking to one
another and, implicitly, looking back at us.
The marvels and oddities in The Universal Addressability of Dumb Things include a clay concept
car; a medieval stone gargoyle; an Egyptian cat mummy; a 13th century silver reliquary in the form of a
hand; a version of Temple Grandin's Squeeze/Hug Machine (designed to calm hyper-sensitive
persons); a mandrake root; the original bronze cast of the famous Lindow bog man's reconstructed
head; and a 1940s model of a cat used to demonstrate reflexes.
Artists in the exhibition include: Thomas Bayrle, Louise Bourgeois, Prunella Clough, Robert Gober,
Nicola Hicks, Alex Hubbard, Dwight Mackintosh, Pierre Molinier, James Rosenquist, Jim Shaw, William
Blake, Il Guercino, John Tenniel and Tøyen.
Patron: Her Majesty The Queen. Chairman: Rick Haythornthwaite.
Chief Executive: Alan Bishop. Artistic Director: Jude Kelly OBE
Southbank Centre is a Registered Charity No. 298909
Trustee: Southbank Centre Limited, Registered in England No.2238415
The Bluecoat’s Artistic Director, Bryan Biggs, said: ‘We are delighted to host this Hayward Touring
exhibition curated by Mark, his first major exhibition project in the place where he was born and grew
up. It represents an exciting opportunity to present a provocative meditation on the power of objects to
communicate, whether they are works of art, museum objects or scientific instruments, and whether
they were created last year or a thousand years ago’.
For further PRESS information please contact Holly Blaxill on 020 7921 0672
holly.blaxill@southbankcentre.co.uk
Listings Information
The Universal Addressability of Dumb Things: Curated by Mark Leckey, a Hayward Touring
exhibition from Southbank Centre opens on 16 February and runs until 14 April 2013 at the Bluecoat,
School Lane, Liverpool, L1 3BX
Tour details
NOTTINGHAM Contemporary
27 April – 30 June 2013
BEXHILL, De La Warr Pavilion
12 July – 20 October 2013
End of Tour
Catalogue
A fully-illustrated catalogue is published to coincide with the exhibition. It includes an introduction and
remarkable visual essay by Mark Leckey alongside essays by the author Erik Davis (TechGnosis:
Myth, Magic and Mysticism in the Age of Information) and medieval historian Dr Alixe Bovey (Monsters
and Grotesques in Medieval Manuscripts). Myth, monstrosity, animism and the articulate are the
subjects of this highly original statement on our increasingly technologised world.
Notes to editors
Hayward Touring produces exhibitions that tour to galleries, museums and other publicly-funded
venues throughout Britain. Hayward Touring collaborate with artists, independent curators, writers and
partner institutions to develop and tour imaginative exhibitions that are seen by approximately half a
million people in over 100 cities and towns each year. Hayward Touring also extends to smaller
monographic print, photography or new media exhibitions touring to a variety of venues, including
galleries, libraries, universities, colleges and schools, arts centres and historic sites. Current and recent
exhibitions include A Universal Archive: William Kentridge as Printmaker, George Grosz: The Big NO
and British Art Show 7: In the Days of the Comet.
Southbank Centre
Southbank Centre is the UK’s largest arts centre, occupying a 21-acre site that sits in the midst of
London’s most vibrant cultural quarter on the South Bank of the Thames. The site has an extraordinary
creative and architectural history stretching back to the 1951 Festival of Britain. Southbank Centre is
home to the Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room and the Hayward Gallery as well
as The Saison Poetry Library and the Arts Council Collection. www.southbankcentre.co.uk.