A complement to the project presented by the Vancouver-based artist at the
Canadian pavilion for the 2017 Venice Bienniale, this publication includes over two hundred
drawings by Farmer, at once perfectly readable and traumatic, and a glossary compiled by curator Kitty Scott.
Geoffrey Farmer is internationally known for his laboriously crafted projects of epic proportions combining theatrical techniques with historically sourced material. Developed over extended periods of time, the artist's multi-layered works pursue multiple narratives, appearing in a constant state of transformation, as he continues to revisit and alter them. This book is a complement to the project presented by the Vancouver-based artist at the Canadian pavilion for the 2017 Venice Bienniale. Titled after an Allen Ginsberg poem, A Way Out of the Mirror includes over two hundred drawings by Farmer, at once perfectly readable and traumatic, and a glossary compiled by curator Kitty Scott.
Published on the occasion of the eponymous exhibition, Canadian Pavilion at the 56th International Exhibition of visual arts – La Biennale di Venezia, from May 13 to November 26, 2017.
The artistic practice of Geoffrey Farmer (born 1967 in Vancouver, where he lives and works) integrates forms of collecting and scholarship employed by cultural historians, and draws on a diverse repertoire. After extensive research, the artist builds collections that unite aspects of visual art, literature, music, politics, history, and sociology, and crystallize in sprawling theatrical installations.
In 2012, Geoffrey Farmer contributed his “Leaves of Grass” (2012) to Documenta 13; in 2011, he participated in the 12th Istanbul Biennial. His work has been on display in numerous solo shows, as well as at REDCAT, Los Angeles, and Casey Kaplan Gallery, New York (both 2011). Farmer also participated in the project “
The Garden of Forking Paths” (2011), initiated by the
Migros Museum of Contemporary Art.
