Beyond Codex: Living Archives

Beyond Codex: Living Archives catalogs the work of fifteen artists as they employ the medium of the book to raise questions about archival construction and retrieval. In doing so, it invites the reader to peek at the various ways in which artists conduct their research, gaining inspiration from personal histories and family narratives while exposing the gaps in and questioning colonial archives. For example, Mina Shoaib brings together pieces from stories she was told as a child as well as traces from public sources like newspapers to relay the story of Faqir Hussain Saga, her grandfather and famous Pakistani classical dancer. On the other hand, Rakowitz explores his series “A House With a Date Palm Will Never Starve”, which stems from Iraqi food culture and comments on larger issues of politics and marginalization.