Yokohama Triennale 2020 "Afterglow"

Overview

The Yokohama Triennale, an international contemporary art exhibition, has been held every three years since 2001, introducing the new concepts and ideas that are shaping culture through a broad range of works by international established and emerging artists, Here, Yokohama engages with the world and contributes to the exchange of ideas and understanding.

Yokohama Triennale 2020, its 7th edition, will be led by Raqs Media Collective, a collective of three artists based in New Delhi, India, as its artistic director. Under Raqs Media Collective’s direction, it will take the artists and co-travelers on a journey through time and space.

The title of Yokohama Triennale 2020 is “Afterglow,” a word chosen by Raqs Media Collective to reference how, in our everyday lives, we unknowingly experience the residues of light sparked at the beginning of our time, as in the case of how the “white noise” on our analog televisions included fragments of cosmic microwave background radiation left over from the cosmic Big Bang. By referring to the Big Bang’s destructive energy that propelled creativity and over time, gave birth to life on this planet, and its radiation that is toxic as well as therapeutic, Raqs Media Collective takes interest in the cycle of destruction/toxicity and recovery/care in the human activities of the contemporary age. Together with the artists, audience, and others, Raqs Media Collective will explore ways to co-exist with toxicity for human sustenance and survival in this world in flux, rather than eliminate it.

“Afterglow” will consist of both an exhibition, and “Episōdos,” or a series of events that illuminate moments of deliberation. The“Episodōs” will begin in November 2019 in Yokohama, prior to the exhibition that opens in July 2020, and unfold in locations both inside and outside of Japan. In addition, Raqs Media Collective will share its sources for its deliberation through a Sourcebook, to expand its views and visions toward the world at large.