Richard Appignanesi asked me today whether I would be interested in participating in an exhibition he would be curating in three places at once: London, Vienna, and Ama Jhama, Rajasthan. “Dust, Ashes” would be the collective title. He also sent me a piece of writing he wrote for Rustom Bharucha, who is developing a museum in Ama Jhama dedicated to one object: the broom. This piece apparently inspired the exhibition, too. The first thing that came to my mind was a piece of writing of mine, “Gondwana” (February 27, 1998), which I sent to him at once. A moment later another piece of mine came to my mind: “The Ultimate Rebellion” (October 21, 2006). All of a sudden, my contribution to the exhibition was perfectly clear in my mind: all three exhibition spaces should have a computer tuned to my Residua, an art project par excellence, which the visitors could search as they please. Dust and ashes in the purest form imaginable, indeed. Oh, I must send this piece to Richard as soon as possible! This very moment, if not even sooner!

Addendum I (June 23, 2009)

Richard and I quickly reached an understanding about my somewhat retired rôle in his exhibition. A week or so later, he also asked me whether I would feel uncomfortable if he extended the title of his exhibition by adding to it the title of my magnum opus. I was quite pleased with his idea, it goes without saying. After a pause of a few months, today I heard from Richard again. It appears that “Dust, Ashes, Residua” has a reasonable chance of being funded, too. Oh, I cannot wait to hear from my many new readers crowding the three exhibition spaces strewn across the planet!

Addendum II (June 1, 2010)

The exhibition, whose full title is “Encounters in Relational Geography—Dust, Ashes, Residua,” will open this evening and run for an entire month at the Open Space, Zentrum für Kunstprojekte on Lassingleithnerplatz in Vienna. As it turns out, London and Ama Jhama, Rajasthan, are not in the game at this juncture. Richard is the curator still. Eight artists from Eastern Europe will be represented in Vienna: Dumitru Budrala, Marina Gržinić and Aina Šmid, Isa Rosenberger, Sašo Sedlaček, Vlad Nanca, Zbynek Baladran, and my humble self. So as to help the visitors with my exhibit, I asked the organizers to print search instructions next to the computer tuned to my Residua. In addition to this piece and all the pieces mentioned in it, I recommended “L’art, c’est moi” (September 21, 1995). For good measure, I would hereby like to recommend one more piece: “A Sufi Preface to My Residua” (March 26, 1994). Let it rip!

Addendum III (June 10, 2010)

This time last year I was kidding about my many new readers, but I am still surprised by the poor performance of my Residua in Vienna. According to Google Analytics, I got only four visits from the Austrian capital the last ten days: three on June 1, when the exhibition was opened, and one on June 4. There are no visits from the rest of Austria, either. I expected there would be at least one visit per day. That is, I expected the person who takes care of the exhibition to turn on the computer upon arrival to the gallery, go to the World Wide Web, and then go to my website. Each and every day. Although I did not expect huge interest, I was still hoping that a few visitors would search through the site to explore its connections with the world of art. According to Google Analytics once again, no art-related search words have appeared the last ten days. None whatsoever. Not to worry, though. The exhibitions in London and Ama Jhama are still pending.

Addendum IV (December 7, 2010)

To my surprise, Richard’s show is moving on. It will open this evening at Calvert 22 Gallery on Calvert Avenue in East London, and it will run through late February next year. The title of the exhibition has changed slightly, if somewhat disappointingly: “Raising Dust—Encounters in Relational Geography.” This time it will feature three more artists in addition to the eight represented in Vienna. They are coming from India, Britain, and Cyprus, respectively: Rasheed Araeen, Yiannos Economou, and Navroze Contractor. The list of eleven names is mind-boggling all by itself, not to mention the growing bulge of relational geography. By the time the exhibition reaches Ama Jhama, the world will be Richard’s oyster. Come to think of it, Gondwana is a more fitting term here.

Addendum V (December 30, 2010)

Shall I mention the poor performance of my Residua in London, as well? Of course not. Screw Google Analytics, which shows no change whatsoever in the number of visits to my website since the opening night at Calvert 22 Gallery in the city with one of the most coveted art scenes in the whole world. It is still around thirty a month, with or without the vaunted exhibition. And it still shows occasional gaps, when not a single visit takes place on a particular date. But I will not mention such trifles at this point. God forbid. Exhibitions are only exhibitions, and my contribution to the last one does not catch the eye. Nor the art scene’s mind. Curiously, neither it catches the attention of the many gallery assistants, whose job it is to tune the computer in the gallery to my site. Every day. And without fail. Laughs all around.