dob eht ni mraw si ti by Danh Võ with Peter Hujar

The title of the exhibition (‘it is warm in the body’ spelt backwards) is taken from The Exorcist and the title of the largest work (itself just a ‘detail’ of Võ’s full-scale replica of the Statue of Liberty built in 267 separate fragments) is We the People.

Võ selects photographs by Peter Hujar to accompany his exhibition. The velvety skin folds of the dog which occupies the whole frame of Hujar’s image echoes the draped fabric of the Statue which is held up only in parts.

Võ’s work is a lyrical exploration of forms of possession, how this possession can trespass the usual boundary between death and life, whilst never losing touch with the attachment/limit to the loved and irreplaceable person.

A copy of a handwritten letter from French missionary Jean-Théophane Vérnard to his father on January 20, 1861, just before his own beheading, is included in the exhibition. It exists as an artist’s edition, Võ’s father making copies of the letter to order for €300, the number of the edition dependant on his health and inclination.

Sickness, death and love as realised in this and in Hujar’s photographs contrasts with the promises of individual self-realisation and limitless opportunity identified in the US constitution.

Catalogue for the exhibition at Museum Ludwig. Very good condition. Softcover. 2015.