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James Webb
b. 1975
lives and works in Stockholm, Sweden

     selected works
     biography
     texts
selected exhibitions:
     What Fresh Hell Is This
     17
     Ecstatic Interference
     next thing you know
     The Two Insomnias


︎︎︎ artists


James Webb, A series of personal questions addressed to the River Rhine (2023) | Speakers, audio, dimensions variable | Installation view, Monheim Triennale, Monheim | link to audioIn this ongoing series, the artist literally poses spoken questions to selected objects and environments as if they were sentient beings able to respond. The installation takes the form of audio speakers installed above where the audience would ideally be situated in relation to the object or space. Each set of questions is written specifically for the chosen interview subject. No answers are written, given, or suggested, and a pause of approximately 10-seconds is taken between each question. In this pause, the object can be thought of as being in a state of response. Here too, the audience is also free to consider their own replies to the questions. James Webb, A series of personal questions addressed to a boat that sailed its last journey on the Red Sea (2023) | Traditional fishing boat, speakers, audio, dimensions variable | Installation view, Islamic Arts Biennale, JeddahIn this ongoing series, the artist literally poses spoken questions to selected objects and environments as if they were sentient beings able to respond. The installation takes the form of audio speakers installed above where the audience would ideally be situated in relation to the object or space. Each set of questions is written specifically for the chosen interview subject. No answers are written, given, or suggested, and a pause of approximately 10-seconds is taken between each question. In this pause, the object can be thought of as being in a state of response. Here too, the audience is also free to consider their own replies to the questions. James Webb, A series of personal questions addressed to a Theriac urn formerly used in the Hôtel-Dieu (2022) | Borrowed 17th century Theriac urn, speakers, audio, dimensions variable | Installation view, Biennale de Lyon, Lyon | link to audioIn this ongoing series, the artist literally poses spoken questions to selected objects and environments as if they were sentient beings able to respond. The installation takes the form of audio speakers installed above where the audience would ideally be situated in relation to the object or space. Each set of questions is written specifically for the chosen interview subject. No answers are written, given, or suggested, and a pause of approximately 10-seconds is taken between each question. In this pause, the object can be thought of as being in a state of response. Here too, the audience is also free to consider their own replies to the questions.


James Webb, A series of personal questions addressed to five litres of Nigerian crude oil (2020) | Crude oil, speaker, audio, dimensions variable | Installation view, blank projects, Cape Town | link to audioIn this ongoing series, the artist literally poses spoken questions to selected inanimate objects as if they were sentient beings able to respond. The installation takes the form of the display of the particular object, and an audio speaker installed above where the audience would ideally be situated in relation to the object on exhibition. Each set of questions is written specifically for that chosen object. No answers are written, given, or suggested, and a pause of approximately 10-seconds is taken between each question. In this pause, the object can be thought of as being in a state of response. Here too, the audience is also free to consider their own replies to the questions, either on behalf of the object or perhaps even themselves. James Webb, A series of personal questions addressed to a Roman Coin (2019) | Silver Denarius Roman coin dated 70AD, speaker, audio, dimensions variable | Installation view, Galerie Imane Fares, Paris | link to audioIn this ongoing series, the artist literally poses spoken questions to selected inanimate objects as if they were sentient beings able to respond. The installation takes the form of the display of the particular object, and an audio speaker installed above where the audience would ideally be situated in relation to the object on exhibition. Each set of questions is written specifically for that chosen object. No answers are written, given, or suggested, and a pause of approximately 10-seconds is taken between each question. In this pause, the object can be thought of as being in a state of response. Here too, the audience is also free to consider their own replies to the questions, either on behalf of the object or perhaps even themselves.


James Webb, This is where I leave you (2020) | Ceramic Ānanda statue, vitrine, plinth, 150 x 50 x 50 cmFound objects serving as placeholders in a retelling of the story of the Nossa Senhora dos Milagros shipwreck encased in vitrines made of fluted glass. The 1686 shipwreck of the Nossa Senhora dos Milagros along the Cape Agulhas coast was an important moment in the history of religion in South Africa. This accident brought Catholicism and Buddhism into contact with the recently colonised, Lutheran Cape: a twist of fate that would have bizarre and poetic consequences. The effect of the fluted glass on our view of the objects appears to fragment and divide them; the static pieces looks to be vibrating, or even radiating. The glass becomes a lens as well as a veil that disconnects, obscures and mystifies: the unity of the recognised form remains out of reach. The choice of found objects relates to how the artist imagines and reimagines the scenario of the story: the objects are sites for projection and interpretation, and are here presented as being in a shimmering state.The full series of sculptures from This is where I leave you was included in the artist's solo exhibition at blank projects in 2020, titled


James Webb, I do not live in this world alone, but in a thousand worlds (13 Views of the Moon) (2019) | Ink on soluble paper, water, glass vials, glass shelves, 210 x 200 x 14.5 cmI do not live in this world alone, but in a thousand worlds is a series of text pieces designed as philosophical medicines and poetic potions. Each work is presented as an installation of glass vials on shelves, with each vial containing the liquid residue of a selected text that has been transcribed in ink on soluble paper and dissolved in water. Committed to water, the text gains the possibility of entering the body through the mouth, in the style of a psychoactive drug or elixir. In this way, the words can be contained by the body, with the drinker able to possess and embody it, and be influenced from the inside. Dissolved, the ideas and images contained in the text have the agency to spill, stain, and seep. These transmuted texts, or ‘drowned anthologies’, oppose the idea of the permanence of the written record - whether on paper or in stone - and their transitory nature allows them the potential to shift and undergo subtle changes over time, so that the artwork is in a constant state of flux. James Webb, I do not live in this world alone, but in a thousand worlds (Alchemy) (2019) | Ink on soluble paper, water, glass vial, glass shelf, 22 x 15 x 15.5 cmI do not live in this world alone, but in a thousand worlds is a series of text pieces designed as philosophical medicines and poetic potions. Each work is presented as an installation of glass vials on shelves, with each vial containing the liquid residue of a selected text that has been transcribed in ink on soluble paper and dissolved in water. Committed to water, the text gains the possibility of entering the body through the mouth, in the style of a psychoactive drug or elixir. In this way, the words can be contained by the body, with the drinker able to possess and embody it, and be influenced from the inside. Dissolved, the ideas and images contained in the text have the agency to spill, stain, and seep. These transmuted texts, or ‘drowned anthologies’, oppose the idea of the permanence of the written record - whether on paper or in stone - and their transitory nature allows them the potential to shift and undergo subtle changes over time, so that the artwork is in a constant state of flux. James Webb, I do not live in this world alone, but in a thousand worlds (The Two Insomnias) (2019) | Ink on soluble paper, water, glass vials, glass shelf, 20 x 40 x 13 cmI do not live in this world alone, but in a thousand worlds is a series of text pieces designed as philosophical medicines and poetic potions. Each work is presented as an installation of glass vials on shelves, with each vial containing the liquid residue of a selected text that has been transcribed in ink on soluble paper and dissolved in water. Committed to water, the text gains the possibility of entering the body through the mouth, in the style of a psychoactive drug or elixir. In this way, the words can be contained by the body, with the drinker able to possess and embody it, and be influenced from the inside. Dissolved, the ideas and images contained in the text have the agency to spill, stain, and seep. These transmuted texts, or ‘drowned anthologies’, oppose the idea of the permanence of the written record - whether on paper or in stone - and their transitory nature allows them the potential to shift and undergo subtle changes over time, so that the artwork is in a constant state of flux.


James Webb, Prayer (2000 - ongoing) | Carpet, speakers, audio, 1600 x 400 cm | Installation view, Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago | link to audio Prayer is an ongoing project, remade around the world since its first presentation in Webb’s home city of Cape Town in 2000. The work consists of recordings of prayer from individuals who belong to dozens of faiths and spiritual affinities in the host city. Listeners are invited to remove their shoes and walk the length of the carpet, composing their own arrangement of voices as they go, or to kneel or otherwise lower themselves next to a speaker to listen more closely to particular prayers. The spare though colorful installation has the austerity of a work of Minimal Art and the enveloping richness of a choral concert. James Webb, Prayer (2000 - ongoing) | Carpet, speakers, audio, 1600 x 400 cm | Installation view, Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Hobart | Photo by Natasha Mulhall | link to audio Prayer is an ongoing project, remade around the world since its first presentation in Webb’s home city of Cape Town in 2000. The work consists of recordings of prayer from individuals who belong to dozens of faiths and spiritual affinities in the host city. Listeners are invited to remove their shoes and walk the length of the carpet, composing their own arrangement of voices as they go, or to kneel or otherwise lower themselves next to a speaker to listen more closely to particular prayers. The spare though colorful installation has the austerity of a work of Minimal Art and the enveloping richness of a choral concert. James Webb, Prayer (2000 - ongoing) | Carpet, speakers, audio, 1600 x 400 cm | Installation view, Johannesburg Art Gallery, Johannesburg | Photo by Anthea Pokroy | link to audio Prayer is an ongoing project, remade around the world since its first presentation in Webb’s home city of Cape Town in 2000. The work consists of recordings of prayer from individuals who belong to dozens of faiths and spiritual affinities in the host city. Listeners are invited to remove their shoes and walk the length of the carpet, composing their own arrangement of voices as they go, or to kneel or otherwise lower themselves next to a speaker to listen more closely to particular prayers. The spare though colorful installation has the austerity of a work of Minimal Art and the enveloping richness of a choral concert.


James Webb, There Is A Light That Never Goes Out (isiXhosa) (2017) | Neon installation, 394 x 89 cm (variable) This work is part of a series, begun in 2010, of site-specific neon signs using the phrase “there is a light that never goes out” translated into carefully selected languages. All of these works begin with the same text, but the process of translation, in addition to the effect of the installation space, produces various meanings according to their linguistic, cultural, semiotic and psychological associations. The original version was in Arabic and the work also exists in isiZulu, Sesotho, Tupi Guarani and Chinese versions. James Webb, There Is A Light That Never Goes Out (Arabic) (2010) | Neon installation, 394 x 89 cm | Installation view, Darat Al Funun, AmmanThis work is part of a series, begun in 2010, of site-specific neon signs using the phrase “there is a light that never goes out” translated into carefully selected languages. All of these works begin with the same text, but the process of translation, in addition to the effect of the installation space, produces various meanings according to their linguistic, cultural, semiotic and psychological associations. The original version was in Arabic and the work also exists in isiZulu, Sesotho, Tupi Guarani and Chinese versions.


James Webb, The Ninth of Eight (2016) | Multimedia intervention, dimensions variable | Installation view, Théâtre Graslin, Nantes | Photo by Bernard Renoux | link to audioIn The Ninth of Eight, a bullhorn loudspeaker attached to the grill gates of the Théâtre Graslin broadcasts the question “Ce que vous voyez?” (transl. What do you see?), spoken by Melodie Abad, onto the Place Graslin intermittently throughout the day.This artwork forms part of La Syzygie, a multi-dimensional reading of the Théâtre Graslin in Nantes, France. The 18th century theatre designed by Mathurin Crucy is transformed into a psycho-architectural environment populated by voices, sounds, and shadows relating to the building’s past, present, and future, referencing conditions and techniques of séance, exorcism, and psychoanalysis. James Webb, La Syzygie (2016) | Multimedia intervention, dimensions variable | Installation view, Théâtre Graslin, Nantes | Photo by Bernard Renoux | link to audioLa Syzygie is a multi-dimensional reading of the Théâtre Graslin in Nantes, France. The artist invited various local specialists to visit the 18th century opera house and read the space through the lens of their own disciplines. The guests included an architect, astrologer, historian, theatre technician, psychic, and psychologist. The 18th century theatre designed by Mathurin Crucy is transformed into a psycho-architectural environment populated by voices, sounds, and shadows relating to the building’s past, present, and future, referencing conditions and techniques of séance, exorcism, and psychoanalysis. Audience members sat in the auditorium and experienced a phantasmagoria of events, dreams, and histories suggested by the magnificent building itself.


James Webb, Al Madat (2014) | Carpets, speakers, tripods, audio; approx. 400 x 250 cm | Installation view at blank projects, Cape Town | link to audioIn Al Madat, a recording of a Sufi dhikr undertaken by patients at the Sultan Bahu Rehab Centre in Westridge, Mitchell’s Plain is broadcast from speakers arranged around four identical Persian carpets. The audience is invited to remove their shoes and sit on the carpets to experience the audio in overwhelming surround sound.Dhikr (literally, “remembrance”) is a traditional Islamic recitation, where sacred names are chanted with special breathing techniques, often creating trance-like effects. This practice was brought to the Cape with the enslaved Malay peoples, and is now used by the rehabilitation centre as an augmentation to the curative process. “Al Madat,” the specific dhikr used for this installation, translates as “help,” and is here used to implore the Prophet for assistance.The installation features the recorded voices of Anwar Bhoyd, Hassiem Nusterdien, Luqmaan Swartz, Mahier Bashier, Marawaan Arabie, Moegammat Shafiek Davids, Moegammat Rossier, Shuaib Hoosain, Shukri Arendse, and Suleiman Samuels.


James Webb, There’s No Place Called Home (Regent's Park) (2012) | Audio, speakers, trees, dimensions variable | Installation view, LondonStarted in 2004, There’s No Place Called Home is a recurring, worldwide intervention wherein specific foreign bird calls and songs are broadcast from speakers concealed in local trees. The incongruent audio is mixed so as to appear as “real” and “lifelike” as possible in the environment. James Webb, There’s No Place Called Home (Great Wall) (2005) | Audio, speakers, trees, dimensions variable | Installation view, Great Wall of ChinaStarted in 2004, There’s No Place Called Home is a recurring, worldwide intervention wherein specific foreign bird calls and songs are broadcast from speakers concealed in local trees. The incongruent audio is mixed so as to appear as “real” and “lifelike” as possible in the environment. James Webb, There’s No Place Called Home (Solitude Park) (2023) | Audio, speakers, trees, dimensions variable | Installation view, Museum Tinguely, BaselStarted in 2004, There’s No Place Called Home is a recurring, worldwide intervention wherein specific foreign bird calls and songs are broadcast from speakers concealed in local trees. The incongruent audio is mixed so as to appear as “real” and “lifelike” as possible in the environment.


James Webb, Entitled (2010) | Ikebana arrangements of weeds, alien vegetation and invasive plants, dimensions variable | Photo by Anthea Pokroy | Ikebana design by Derry Ralph. James Webb, Le Marché Oriental (2009) | Video installation, dimensions variable | Installation view at blank projects, Cape Town | Photo by Paul GroseLe Marché Oriental films a two-minute intervention inside Cape Town’s disused Oriental Plaza, an Apartheid-era shopping mall designed to control the trading opportunities of disenfranchised Islamic communities with links to District Six. On the fourth day of Ramadan, 2008, Sheikh Mogamat Moerat of the Zeenatul Islam Majid mosque next door to the plaza was invited to sing the Adhan (call to prayer) inside the empty remains of the building a few weeks prior to its demolition to make way for luxury apartments. The artwork is exhibited as a wall-sized video projection with immersive sound. 



James Webb, Scream (2008) | Signed certificate, museum barrier, speaker, audio, dimensions variable | Installation view, Johannesburg Art Gallery, Johannesburg | link to audioScream is an intervention at the Reina Sofia, Spain’s national gallery, where members of the museum’s staff were invited to scream at Pablo Picasso’s Guernica. Because the Picasso family own the rights to the painting’s image, the artist was not allowed to document the project visually. The artwork is presented as a spacious installation in a white cube with the signed certificate of permission from the Reina Sofia on display and audio recordings of the screams broadcast from concealed speakers. James Webb, Scream (2008) | Signed certificate, museum barrier, speaker, audio, dimensions variable | link to audioScream is an intervention at the Reina Sofia, Spain’s national gallery, where members of the museum’s staff were invited to scream at Pablo Picasso’s Guernica. Because the Picasso family own the rights to the painting’s image, the artist was not allowed to document the project visually. The artwork is presented as a spacious installation in a white cube with the signed certificate of permission from the Reina Sofia on display and audio recordings of the screams broadcast from concealed speakers.