https://elainetam.net Elaine M.L. Tam Sat, 11 Apr 2026 08:52:58 +0000 https://elainetam.net en https://elainetam.net/Front-page Sat, 11 Apr 2026 08:52:54 +0000 Elaine M.L. Tam https://elainetam.net/Front-page (List) Misc. projects(Scroll) Recently <img width="1588" height="1022" width_o="1588" height_o="1022" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/a99e39960d4a3d9c206bc2025d73ef03620eede8a0875e3d81a240db207455dd/Screenshot-2026-07-20-at-23.01.07.png" data-mid="250547694" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/a99e39960d4a3d9c206bc2025d73ef03620eede8a0875e3d81a240db207455dd/Screenshot-2026-07-20-at-23.01.07.png" /> Man Ray, ‘L’Enigme d’Isidore Ducasse’ (1920). Photo: Mutual Art.&nbsp;&nbsp;‘The gift is the ever-withdrawing enigma; an abstinence from representation; a figure foregrounded by the duration of withholding.’ For a couple of years now I’ve harboured a special interest in wrapped sculpture without ever fully understanding why. An encounter with Man Ray’s L’Enigme d’Isidore Ducasse (1920) – wrapped sculpture par excellence – drove me to finally interrogate precisely what internal operations were afoot. In my essay for Effects journal, I consider scopophilia, sadomasochism and the unrepresentable through a close reading of Ray’s ‘enigma’ and its sister-work,&nbsp;The Gift (1921). Expect references to the writings of Tadeusz Kantor, Melanie Klein and Roland Barthes. Read it&nbsp;here.&nbsp; <img width="1272" height="848" width_o="1272" height_o="848" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/aab054381649cbd6f46fc67f9bf1fe0bed3a551e5e54e5dd894ec3ef2c32c37b/Screenshot-2026-07-20-at-22.30.09.png" data-mid="250547407" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/aab054381649cbd6f46fc67f9bf1fe0bed3a551e5e54e5dd894ec3ef2c32c37b/Screenshot-2026-07-20-at-22.30.09.png" />Stefan Dotter, ‘Record’ (2025), designed by Jonny Lu. On Friday, 26 June 2026, I’ll be in conversation with photographer Stefan Dotter at Le Bal in Paris. Together, we’ll discuss his work documenting natural habitats and indigenous communities, and his first monograph ‘Record’, for which I have written the opening essay. We’ll consider solastalgia and image-making in the age of extinction, as well as the role of aesthetics in all of this. In contradistinction to the historical use of the camera as scientific tool, I argue that a photographer’s use of the image to convey singular forms of subjective beauty provides needed refuge, a form of solace and a source of hope. Sign up here or buy the book here. <img width="3024" height="1811" width_o="3024" height_o="1811" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/4b1d00068a623d254e4d173b3fd2f9eed563c28cdec4624d374c160efe0db053/IMG_4410.jpeg" data-mid="248074450" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/4b1d00068a623d254e4d173b3fd2f9eed563c28cdec4624d374c160efe0db053/IMG_4410.jpeg" /> John Giorno (GPS) archival posters, Marciano Art Foundation, Los Angeles, 2025. I’m convening a Fieldnotes workshop called&nbsp;Writing Rage on Tuesday, 23 June 2026, 7–9pm. The idea is to use the ongoing construction at Pushkin House as a backdrop for questions of textual dissent and institutional critique, drawing inspiration from guerilla publishing formats and strategies. Following Jenny Holzer’s ‘Inflammatory Essays’ (1979–82), John Giorno's poetry posters and Paul Virilio’s Speed and Politics (1986), we’ll use this setting to consider urgency and furore, and its mobilisation in writing and language. Together, we’ll write short essays and collaborative manifestos for immediate dissemination, through guided reading, group discussion and prompts. My fee (from your ticket) will go to Rescue Now, a charity providing rapid, essential aid to Ukranians affected by war. Sign up here. <img width="4032" height="2680" width_o="4032" height_o="2680" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/fe1f08edb5bc1b5316a6d3491266885a407c07f0d8f8dd47c866df5c7155f6d3/Nirvana-ET04-copy.jpg" data-mid="247091616" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/fe1f08edb5bc1b5316a6d3491266885a407c07f0d8f8dd47c866df5c7155f6d3/Nirvana-ET04-copy.jpg" /> Nirvana Memorial Garden, Singapore, 2022. Photo: Elaine ML Tam. Re-touching: Lidija Kononenko. I never quite knew what to do with my fascination with cemetary studies, death rituals and burial practices. Ever since I’d visited Nirvana Memorial Garden columbarium in Singapore, I’d been looking for an excuse to do an interpretive reflection on the aesthetics of Chinese gold-worship, fetishism and the afterlife etc. Current Obsession’s programming around ornamentation and the underworld were sympathetic to my curiousity, and provided me with such an excuse. Read it&nbsp;here. <img width="1024" height="673" width_o="1024" height_o="673" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/f54a49691685581e97f3b1be831ada61350100133264606734211534ec9569f7/Image-11.jpeg" data-mid="247091141" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/f54a49691685581e97f3b1be831ada61350100133264606734211534ec9569f7/Image-11.jpeg" /> (Left to right) Paulius Petraitis, Geiste Kincinaityte, Julija Steponaityte, Vytautas Kumza. Fun and friendly at the ICA, moderating a panel discussion feat. research-editors Geiste Kincinaityte, Paulius Petraitis and artists Vytautas Kumza, Julija Steponaityte. Together we discussed the heroism of vision, the unstable image, verisimilitude in a post-truth world, representation and hypermediation – in an attempt to draw a ‘fragmentary portrait of the contemporary moment’. &nbsp;E-mail me for the audio recording, if this kinda thing is also your jam. Or read my book review here, which speaks to some of the above.&nbsp; <img width="1280" height="960" width_o="1280" height_o="960" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/dfbf6037c7a4389363acc765eb18405af7ec53ccf2995d12726ff6dedff4e2f2/16-radek-brousil-two-2025-wood-church-candles-hand-forged-square-head-iron-nails-photo-juddartindex.jpeg" data-mid="247154205" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/dfbf6037c7a4389363acc765eb18405af7ec53ccf2995d12726ff6dedff4e2f2/16-radek-brousil-two-2025-wood-church-candles-hand-forged-square-head-iron-nails-photo-juddartindex.jpeg" />Radek Brousil, Two (2025), Krupa Gallery, London. Photo: Judd Art Index. ‘My heart is an old museum...’ so begins the prose that accompanies the eponymous group exhibition curated by Radek Brousil at Krupa, London, featuring work by Greg Carideo, Henrik Potter, Jungwon Jay Hur, Kamil Dossar, Marlon Kroll, Minh Thang Pham, Viktor Timofeev. Extending the metaphor, my text stages an encounter between exes that takes place in a quiet museum and is, at once, a thought piece on chronopolitics, objecthood, anamnesia. Visit the exhibition until 26 January 2026. Read the text&nbsp;here. <img width="2203" height="1334" width_o="2203" height_o="1334" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/410697b6b247124d7de72235b2b481a9d24ea7146aeac1a9bae180a5d1c03521/Tilda_Ongoing_Rizzoli-2025.png" data-mid="247153752" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/410697b6b247124d7de72235b2b481a9d24ea7146aeac1a9bae180a5d1c03521/Tilda_Ongoing_Rizzoli-2025.png" />‘Tilda’ (2025), designed by Irma Boom, published by Rizzoli.&nbsp; Tilda Swinton’s first book is a dedication to a method and ethic of working she established early with the late Derek Jarman, as well as the intimate, ongoing relationships that she has forged. For Tilda (2025), I had the pleasure of structuring the textual elements of the book, and editing the recorded conversations Swinton had with filmmakers Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Pedro Almodóvar, Joanna Hogg, Luca Guadagnino; text messages with Jim Jarmusch; an introduction by Olivia Laing and a personal address to Jarman by Swinton herself. This rich, image-led publication is designed by Irma Boom and published by Rizzoli, and is available for purchase here. Sign up here to attend the book launch at the V&amp;A, London.&nbsp; https://elainetam.net/Information Sat, 11 Apr 2026 08:52:54 +0000 Elaine M.L. Tam https://elainetam.net/Information Itinerant and occasional, in London.Last updated 22—07—26.Despite better advice and fair warning, I went to an art school to study media theory. Then, I went back, to study contemporary art theory.Somewhere between all that, I sent pleading letters about ‘gaining experience’ to every art gallery in London I knew. Of the two responses, one was from White Cube, where I’ve now been installed for the past decade.&nbsp; Somewhere between all that, having organised numerous exhibitions and noting a crisis in the so-called ‘Curatorial’, I moved into research and editing instead. ‘How nice it’d be to be paid to read,’ I thought. I’d been part of Fieldnotes, a publishing project supporting ‘non-conforming creative practices’, for a few years by then, following that second time I went to Goldsmiths. Plus, I was doing spurts of writing as a freelancer for small galleries, artist monographs, that sorta thing – still am.I also love to read and research widely and slowly. I’m forever part-way through some outrageous 1970s feminist literature, new poetry by a queer friend-of-a-friend, papers on institutional analysis, a Barthes biography, a longstanding reading group that convenes weekly to read Deleuze on Leibniz. Somewhat owing to the latter, I’ve decided to pursue a second Masters, this time in Philosophy. Ctrl+C Ctrl+V one-paragraph bio: ET is a writer, editor and occasional curator from Hong Kong, currently based in London. She dayjobs at White Cube, a leading contemporary art gallery, and nightjobs at Fieldnotes, a journal of experimental art and writing. At both, she works with artists and thinkers to create new forms and forums for critical engagement. Her research interests include psychoanalysis, media theory and performance writing. Her essays, short stories and poems have been published in anthologies, artist monographs and as exhibition text.&nbsp; https://elainetam.net/Mobile-nav Sat, 11 Apr 2026 08:52:55 +0000 Elaine M.L. Tam https://elainetam.net/Mobile-nav IntervalsCompanionThe Empathetic TrapPhung-Tien PhanFigure 2.41Never let a fool kiss youMy heart is an old museumUbiquitous No. 14Terminal velocityFieldnotesMorag KeilFilthSpillsJust, everything E-mail Instagram Text © Elaine M.L. Tam Images © Artists and photographers captioned https://elainetam.net/Spills Tue, 06 Jul 2021 15:45:05 +0000 Elaine M.L. Tam https://elainetam.net/Spills In July 2021, Geiste Kincinaityte and I created an intertextual performance-lecture on the occasion of Tactics &amp; Praxis: Creativity, Pleasure &amp; Ethics in Academic Work, an annual conference hosted by CRASSH, University of Cambridge. Considering the gesture citation in sympathy with polyphony, Spills is a roving, raving choral work where the voice of others is melded with our own. &nbsp;The aim of the conference was to explore work that brings praxis and research into creative contact, challenging the dominant emphasis on outputs which views academic labour primarily in terms of productivity. In so doing, the conference seeks to investigate and encourage creative approaches to intellectual endeavours, not only as an antidote to the pressures of neoliberal academia, but also as offering new ways of thinking and acting, ethically, politically and intellectually. Spills also exists in abridged, textual form thanks to Deleuzine, ‘Sprouting in all directions’, edited by Lilly Markaki and Sabeen Chaudhry. Hard copies available via select stockists, such as here. A soft copy of the Spills chapter can be found here. <img width="844" height="1212" width_o="844" height_o="1212" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/5b563aa76644ef5c9b758b8311c12d56fb0348a70d68f1cf7ecbeb5caae4d833/Screenshot-2026-04-12-at-23.53.59.png" data-mid="247106428" border="0" data-scale="41" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/844/i/5b563aa76644ef5c9b758b8311c12d56fb0348a70d68f1cf7ecbeb5caae4d833/Screenshot-2026-04-12-at-23.53.59.png" /> <img width="1132" height="868" width_o="1132" height_o="868" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/c3f2145c6520c4434dfa4fc727d50d527132730a4fc5857eee2547220ec9666a/Screenshot-2021-07-06-at-16.40.02.png" data-mid="113173271" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/c3f2145c6520c4434dfa4fc727d50d527132730a4fc5857eee2547220ec9666a/Screenshot-2021-07-06-at-16.40.02.png" />Slides (ascending): René Magritte,&nbsp;Mária Bartuszová,&nbsp;Pedro Almodóvar, Pamela Rosenkranz&nbsp; <img width="1108" height="846" width_o="1108" height_o="846" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/7da0caa0ce277e6eff61b11343322fbad4af41a430cbf6a1280bdd3fc8c03c67/Screenshot-2021-07-06-at-16.40.57.png" data-mid="113173284" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/7da0caa0ce277e6eff61b11343322fbad4af41a430cbf6a1280bdd3fc8c03c67/Screenshot-2021-07-06-at-16.40.57.png" />Slides (ascending): Geiste Kincainaityte, Mary Wigman, network of Fernand Deligny, Cy Twombly https://elainetam.net/Intervals-1 Sat, 11 Apr 2026 08:52:58 +0000 Elaine M.L. Tam https://elainetam.net/Intervals-1 <img width="1272" height="1584" width_o="1272" height_o="1584" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/9f2e941e67b1d0b29cda914a77ed959ec4485913918328dd27b30fe3524f8d7e/Screenshot-2021-10-02-at-22.48.24.png" data-mid="247106383" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/9f2e941e67b1d0b29cda914a77ed959ec4485913918328dd27b30fe3524f8d7e/Screenshot-2021-10-02-at-22.48.24.png" /> https://elainetam.net/Companion Sat, 11 Apr 2026 08:52:55 +0000 Elaine M.L. Tam https://elainetam.net/Companion In a fit of inspiration or madness, Honey Luard and I cobbled together the first Companion in a mere month or two over summer of 2021, not quite knowing what it could or should be. Now, in more formal terms, we co-edit&nbsp;Companion, White Cube gallery’s annual reader, ‘a compilation of contemporary art and discourse. Visual essays, in-conversations, lectures, poetry, artist writings and newly commissioned texts are just some of the forms of creative expression and scholarship brought together in a single volume.’ <img width="3500" height="2333" width_o="3500" height_o="2333" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/8aee21c198593569360d88e0f64402d3f625205c8890b7e9272383422f680b60/WHITE-CUBE-COMPANION-5_012.jpg" data-mid="247090999" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/8aee21c198593569360d88e0f64402d3f625205c8890b7e9272383422f680b60/WHITE-CUBE-COMPANION-5_012.jpg" /> <img width="3500" height="2333" width_o="3500" height_o="2333" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/4dec942b5d818b8deb1ab1de5de90799737df2f3a0292b892604f58101daecf7/WHITE-CUBE-COMPANION-5_002.jpg" data-mid="247090997" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/4dec942b5d818b8deb1ab1de5de90799737df2f3a0292b892604f58101daecf7/WHITE-CUBE-COMPANION-5_002.jpg" /> <img width="3500" height="2333" width_o="3500" height_o="2333" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/d13e8d43ac20f422cc6999ae6ef4bd29273d07d1bffb9b628aa8f178fc64af41/WHITE-CUBE-COMPANION-5_004.jpg" data-mid="247091001" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/d13e8d43ac20f422cc6999ae6ef4bd29273d07d1bffb9b628aa8f178fc64af41/WHITE-CUBE-COMPANION-5_004.jpg" /> <img width="3500" height="2333" width_o="3500" height_o="2333" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/49ad196d1104f85aa67efa73cefe84ce9a94f560494172a285c183340097a551/WHITE-CUBE-COMPANION-5_007.jpg" data-mid="247091000" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/49ad196d1104f85aa67efa73cefe84ce9a94f560494172a285c183340097a551/WHITE-CUBE-COMPANION-5_007.jpg" /> <img width="3500" height="2333" width_o="3500" height_o="2333" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/dd5fb750ad7ada71481252d541c889e299ab14bb4cceb9ab3afaa0919376850f/WHITE-CUBE-COMPANION-5_009.jpg" data-mid="247090998" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/dd5fb750ad7ada71481252d541c889e299ab14bb4cceb9ab3afaa0919376850f/WHITE-CUBE-COMPANION-5_009.jpg" /> Companion (2025) features Darren Almond, Mirosław Bałka, Zygmunt Bauman, Lucy Bradnock, David Campany, Alex Carver, Yeon Shim Chung, Lynne Drexler, Nancy Feldman, Sara Flores, Gilbert &amp; George, Antony Gormley, On Kawara, Lee Ufan, Yoko Matsumoto, Sarah Morris, Isamu Noguchi, Minoru Nomata, Howardena Pindell, Ariana Reines, Doris Salcedo, Ilana Savdie, Adrian Searle, Jennifer Sliwka, Haim Steinbach, Sam Thorne, Reiko Tomii, Amalia Ulman, Jasmine Wahi, Jonathan Watkins, and Jeff Wall.&nbsp;Designed by Sandra Kassener. <img width="3500" height="2333" width_o="3500" height_o="2333" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/7f0afff1bc2ede3a9d17097e8c14aed02ea78e345e0d140a5b2eac158e678247/WHITE-CUBE-COMPANION-VOL-4_054.jpg" data-mid="247091026" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/7f0afff1bc2ede3a9d17097e8c14aed02ea78e345e0d140a5b2eac158e678247/WHITE-CUBE-COMPANION-VOL-4_054.jpg" /> <img width="3500" height="2333" width_o="3500" height_o="2333" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/4b646dee9112b739861303663a9d9d71a8d0dfd9305a02c4eb88b71deb44778d/WHITE-CUBE-COMPANION-VOL-4_001.jpg" data-mid="247065782" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/4b646dee9112b739861303663a9d9d71a8d0dfd9305a02c4eb88b71deb44778d/WHITE-CUBE-COMPANION-VOL-4_001.jpg" /> <img width="3500" height="2333" width_o="3500" height_o="2333" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/773b450d3ba085a0f29e0bef723ce8840efaf0266e1dc3328dcdf49471987f0a/WHITE-CUBE-COMPANION-VOL-4_004.jpg" data-mid="247091027" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/773b450d3ba085a0f29e0bef723ce8840efaf0266e1dc3328dcdf49471987f0a/WHITE-CUBE-COMPANION-VOL-4_004.jpg" /> <img width="3500" height="2333" width_o="3500" height_o="2333" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/af202d6d86c0f1a6536f71c2e9ae93721b48eb5f45c6ba5dab4b5e0f83af6e66/WHITE-CUBE-COMPANION-VOL-4_007.jpg" data-mid="247091028" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/af202d6d86c0f1a6536f71c2e9ae93721b48eb5f45c6ba5dab4b5e0f83af6e66/WHITE-CUBE-COMPANION-VOL-4_007.jpg" /> <img width="3500" height="2333" width_o="3500" height_o="2333" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/36fd02bf005ba6803cc0ca782e749315d63b114cf18935929375d06601ca81ec/WHITE-CUBE-COMPANION-VOL-4_002.jpg" data-mid="247091029" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/36fd02bf005ba6803cc0ca782e749315d63b114cf18935929375d06601ca81ec/WHITE-CUBE-COMPANION-VOL-4_002.jpg" /> Companion (2024) features Tunji Adeniyi-Jones, Etel Adnan, David Anfam, Elizabeth Catlett, Charles Darwent, Tracey Emin, Briony Fer,&nbsp;Félix Guattari, Melanie Herzog, Richard Hunt, Sergej Jensen, Anselm Kiefer, Per Kirkeby, Maya B. Kronic, Quinn Latimer, Danica Lundy, Christian Marclay, Tiona Nekkia McClodden, Julie Mehretu, Jackson Pollock, Liz Rideal, Legacy Russell, Ilana Savdie, Moran Sheleg, Sam Shepherd, Takis, TARWUK, Danh Vo and Harry Weller.&nbsp;Designed by John Philip Sage and Carlos Romo-Melgar. <img width="3500" height="2333" width_o="3500" height_o="2333" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/7bd21b6976fc255790c70a3e68ff211d8f3bd44255809d6f59129f5b61220945/2023-10-03_WHITE-CUBE_WHITE-CUBE-COMPANION-III_010.jpg" data-mid="247091031" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/7bd21b6976fc255790c70a3e68ff211d8f3bd44255809d6f59129f5b61220945/2023-10-03_WHITE-CUBE_WHITE-CUBE-COMPANION-III_010.jpg" /> <img width="3500" height="2333" width_o="3500" height_o="2333" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/2df4f35981a9813c9f55737300edb13c5685dc32f3d506634a9da933da6a3aaa/2023-10-03_WHITE-CUBE_WHITE-CUBE-COMPANION-III_000.jpg" data-mid="247091035" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/2df4f35981a9813c9f55737300edb13c5685dc32f3d506634a9da933da6a3aaa/2023-10-03_WHITE-CUBE_WHITE-CUBE-COMPANION-III_000.jpg" /> Companion (2023) features Georg Baselitz, Alex Bennett, TJ Demos, Philomena Epps, Cerith Wyn Evans, Theaster Gates, Antony Gormley, Martha Graham, Tom Hastings, Mona Hatoum, Toby Kamps, Imi Knoebel, Robert Macfarlane, Ibrahim Mahama, Courtney J Martin, Julie Mehretu, Rod Mengham, Beatriz Milhazes, Sarah Morris, Isamu Noguchi, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Robert Ryman, Doris Salcedo, Delfim Sardo, Andrea Schlieker, Raqib Shaw, Philippa Snow, Luc Tuymans, Courtney Willis Blair and Léon Wuidar. Designed by Dan Solbach.&nbsp; <img width="3500" height="2333" width_o="3500" height_o="2333" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/977f52d083d978f4a56dae847c89251b9d3976d969429cc310d3cc9eede145e7/WHITE-CUBE-COMPANION-VOL-2_026.jpg" data-mid="247091039" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/977f52d083d978f4a56dae847c89251b9d3976d969429cc310d3cc9eede145e7/WHITE-CUBE-COMPANION-VOL-2_026.jpg" /> <img width="3500" height="2333" width_o="3500" height_o="2333" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/9da873deeb88835e58d2a5ca15c83c1573602dce1d746388f6ca8fbc43d2a123/WHITE-CUBE-COMPANION-VOL-2_019.jpg" data-mid="247091043" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/9da873deeb88835e58d2a5ca15c83c1573602dce1d746388f6ca8fbc43d2a123/WHITE-CUBE-COMPANION-VOL-2_019.jpg" /> Companion (2022) features Etel Adnan, Cecilia Alemani, Michael Armitage, Chiara Bertola, Sophie Calle, Briony Fer, Gilbert &amp; George, Louise Giovanelli, Juliana Halpert, David Hammons, Estelle Hoy, Jenny Jaskey, Klara Kemp-Welch, Amy Key, Chris Kraus, Danica Lundy, Christian Marclay, Jonas Marguet, Nakhane, Isamu Noguchi, Ben Okri, Gabriel Orozco, Virginia Overton, Jessica Rankin, Ilana Savdie, Park Seo-Bo, Brenda Shaughnessy, Jennifer Sliwka, Haim Steinbach, Alina Szapocznikow, Danh Vo and Jeff Wall. Designed by Jonathan Hares. https://elainetam.net/The-Empathetic-Trap Sat, 11 Apr 2026 08:52:56 +0000 Elaine M.L. Tam https://elainetam.net/The-Empathetic-Trap ‘A certain kind of photographer must hunt for his image. To stalk, to shoot, to capture, to crop: it is no accident that in a lexicon of the image we find words commonly associated with hunting. Some 2.6 million years ago, homo sapiens learned to hunt big-game and entered the club of competitive predators. They acquired the basic principles of the hunt – tracking, chasing, ambushing – through the observation and mimicry of carnivorous predators in their surroundings. But while their competitors could follow on the heels of a creature almost entirely by scent, homo sapiens relied on movements, patterns, prints and the occasional sound. Hunting then, as much as it is now, is anendeavour belonging to visual culture. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Less apparent is that hunting is partly responsible for the abstract thinking that spawns the virtual-visual: the production of mental images. Causal cognition is a form of abstract thinking that is argued to have developed with the hunter personage. An understanding of cause and effect ist ethered, if not necessary, to the relations of predator and prey, thus the mindset of the hunter is constituted by the question of how one’s every move may implicate the future success of the hunt. As homo sapiens pursued big-game, they began to depend on cunning and cooperation far more than strength. Tools emerged as one of humanity’s earliest technologies, along with inter-species alliances and the development of oblique strategies such as the laying of traps. To capture an image, the photographer must enter a predator-prey dynamic; they must envision their subject, predict their whereabouts, and anticipate the perfect moment to seize it. The photographer lurks and adopts the sit-and-wait technique, all the while alert to presences and other invisible goings-on. In an exercise of weaponised empathy, they must inhabit the prey’s point of view to lay the perfect trap. It is as such that causal cognition, a game of infinite variation, connects the photographer’s process with the anatomy of the hunt.’ [Excerpt from ‘The Empathetic Trap’, 2025] <img width="1536" height="1152" width_o="1536" height_o="1152" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/5e21a53f67bd4757189006080eee1175c86d5f1f6ddddb7364b66d3e8793e238/image-1.png" data-mid="247092146" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/5e21a53f67bd4757189006080eee1175c86d5f1f6ddddb7364b66d3e8793e238/image-1.png" />Francis Alÿs, The Nightwatch (2004), 19 minutes, still.&nbsp; <img width="864" height="1062" width_o="864" height_o="1062" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/49a4239cd8705ef3fe5f18ce5a5a0fd5603d207b94ad3189c74f71f2c17e2d9c/Screenshot-2025-04-07-at-14.55.26.png" data-mid="247092150" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/864/i/49a4239cd8705ef3fe5f18ce5a5a0fd5603d207b94ad3189c74f71f2c17e2d9c/Screenshot-2025-04-07-at-14.55.26.png" /> Selected 35mm photographs by Sophie Calle comprising&nbsp;Suite Vénitienne (1983), as they appear in the eponymous first edition book, with an introduction by Jean Baudrillard.&nbsp;&nbsp; If you’ve ever wondered what Sophie Calle’s 1983 Suite Vénitienne and Francis Alÿs’ 2004 The Nightwatch have to do with projective identification, imaging technologies and the stalk of the hunt... this essay I wrote with designer Arthur Gouillart titled ‘The Empathetic Trap’ answers to exactly that. Published in the quarterly Amsterdam-based print magazine Simulacrum, we do a close reading of these two works of art created 20 years apart using a bit of media theory, psychoanalysis and botched evolutionary ideas. Available for purchase here. https://elainetam.net/Never-let-a-fool-kiss-you Sat, 11 Apr 2026 08:52:56 +0000 Elaine M.L. Tam https://elainetam.net/Never-let-a-fool-kiss-you <img width="1242" height="843" width_o="1242" height_o="843" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/7439b9a6c8c25f868248970783d153ecd508869ad458a9e42ecd69b563f41c6a/Screenshot-2023-02-02-at-22.24.58.png" data-mid="247096717" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/7439b9a6c8c25f868248970783d153ecd508869ad458a9e42ecd69b563f41c6a/Screenshot-2023-02-02-at-22.24.58.png" />‘Never let a fool kiss you’ is a piece of writing that is, firstly, a dedication to my favourite Frank O’Hara poem ‘For Grace, After A Party’ from the 1950s. Secondly, it’s an experiment with meta-text that exploits literary forms and devices such as the footnote, the screenplay and the first-person narrative. With gratitude to the Pure Fiction group and editors – Rose Aiello, Ellen Yeon Kim, Erika Landstrom, Luzie Meyer, Mark von Schlegell – for the freedom to produce such an unusual, cross-genre text. It’s published in Sybil’s Mouths (2023) by Sternberg Press, and begins the chapter titled ‘Idio-matic Writing’. Available for purchase here. <img width="2165" height="1288" width_o="2165" height_o="1288" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/d9c82ff1bbabd50af306b82b0eec9a7e122bbc6f7bf939ea7fed8b6be02f10f8/Screenshot-2026-04-12-at-15.23.32.png" data-mid="247092783" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/d9c82ff1bbabd50af306b82b0eec9a7e122bbc6f7bf939ea7fed8b6be02f10f8/Screenshot-2026-04-12-at-15.23.32.png" /><img width="2168" height="1292" width_o="2168" height_o="1292" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/8314c74a29e9503c1b072c156a687903e1bff5eb69dfde26fa2c1a29374ca78f/Screenshot-2026-04-12-at-15.23.37.png" data-mid="247092784" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/8314c74a29e9503c1b072c156a687903e1bff5eb69dfde26fa2c1a29374ca78f/Screenshot-2026-04-12-at-15.23.37.png" /> Sybil’s Mouths (2023) features Rosa Aiello, Gerry Bibby, Coleman Collins, Ayanna Dozier, Annie Ernaux, Amelia Groom, Michèle Graf &amp; Selina Grüter, Monilola Olayemi Ilupeju, Ellen Yeon Kim, Bitsy Knox, Dan Kwon, Erika Landström, Enad Marouf, Katrin Mayer, Aislinn McNamara, Kamila &amp; Jasmina Metwaly, Luzie Meyer, Vera Palme, Theresa Patzschke, Georgia Sagri, Mahsa Saloor, Elif Saydam, Mark von Schlegell, Simon Speiser, Elaine Tam, C.S. Tolan, Mikhail Wassmer, Anna Zacharoff. [ISBN 978-3-956796-44-9] https://elainetam.net/Ubiquitous-No-14 Mon, 16 Oct 2023 15:08:50 +0000 Elaine M.L. Tam https://elainetam.net/Ubiquitous-No-14 Ubiquitous No.14&nbsp; Curated by Elaine ML Tam 27 September – 10 December 2023Tube Gallery, Palma, MallorcaArtists: Nancy Allen, Ed Atkins, Corey Bartle Sanderson, Jack Burton, Richard Dean Hughes, Jason Dodge, Phillip Lai, Perce Jerrom, Amba Sayal-Bennett, Victor Seaward, Magali Reus, Kialy Tinhgang, Nikhil Vettukattil, Matthew Verdon, Anna Gonzalez-Noguchi, Ben Westoby, Rafal Zajko 4 pieces of prose have been written to accompany the show, and are presented in a mixed stack for visitors. All four versions are available here <img width="2500" height="1667" width_o="2500" height_o="1667" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/8707a93533057e5f8c5681b177677adf11f62acbfe5937dd36539852ce302f37/0001-TUBE-GALLERY--Grimalt-de-Blanch.jpg" data-mid="193858596" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/8707a93533057e5f8c5681b177677adf11f62acbfe5937dd36539852ce302f37/0001-TUBE-GALLERY--Grimalt-de-Blanch.jpg" /> <img width="2500" height="1667" width_o="2500" height_o="1667" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/f879ea5a68ecb55e61282d9d527aa08d302cd0d2a15e545c8258ee7b3b0f552e/0070-TUBE-GALLERY--Grimalt-de-Blanch.jpg" data-mid="193858604" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/f879ea5a68ecb55e61282d9d527aa08d302cd0d2a15e545c8258ee7b3b0f552e/0070-TUBE-GALLERY--Grimalt-de-Blanch.jpg" /><img width="1096" height="683" width_o="1096" height_o="683" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/3d2b6ae2f1cea0eed90610e55a8cb05d83a30cc00ddb557a0802d3011941ac52/0065-TUBE-GALLERY--Grimalt-de-Blanch.jpg" data-mid="193862475" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/3d2b6ae2f1cea0eed90610e55a8cb05d83a30cc00ddb557a0802d3011941ac52/0065-TUBE-GALLERY--Grimalt-de-Blanch.jpg" /> <img width="2500" height="1667" width_o="2500" height_o="1667" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/9c7aa0afeb56a4795519445b860b05a62cb09d5c1dae557eba389e8833aa98d7/0004-TUBE-GALLERY--Grimalt-de-Blanch.jpg" data-mid="193858625" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/9c7aa0afeb56a4795519445b860b05a62cb09d5c1dae557eba389e8833aa98d7/0004-TUBE-GALLERY--Grimalt-de-Blanch.jpg" /> <img width="2500" height="1667" width_o="2500" height_o="1667" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/aa4319d8a10730cd894d8240279794ba847467faee55b839c292799a7135b829/0021-TUBE-GALLERY--Grimalt-de-Blanch.jpg" data-mid="193858666" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/aa4319d8a10730cd894d8240279794ba847467faee55b839c292799a7135b829/0021-TUBE-GALLERY--Grimalt-de-Blanch.jpg" /> <img width="2500" height="1667" width_o="2500" height_o="1667" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/07a693778f8a2b8b2330fed2f71456e9ce4dc7a58084477f09ae40aa1f6d781f/0137.jpg" data-mid="193859118" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/07a693778f8a2b8b2330fed2f71456e9ce4dc7a58084477f09ae40aa1f6d781f/0137.jpg" /> <img width="2500" height="1667" width_o="2500" height_o="1667" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/ef30a6efa99d024ebd06d2e43b06fbddc30fa3d059484b5a7cb610205c2171ab/0024-TUBE-GALLERY--Grimalt-de-Blanch.jpg" data-mid="193858669" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/ef30a6efa99d024ebd06d2e43b06fbddc30fa3d059484b5a7cb610205c2171ab/0024-TUBE-GALLERY--Grimalt-de-Blanch.jpg" /><img width="2500" height="1667" width_o="2500" height_o="1667" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/e8cb5d6f02dc85a82bccf3375f64403946fa06d9a081293fe9d67e729cdac195/0103-TUBE-GALLERY--Grimalt-de-Blanch.jpg" data-mid="193858996" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/e8cb5d6f02dc85a82bccf3375f64403946fa06d9a081293fe9d67e729cdac195/0103-TUBE-GALLERY--Grimalt-de-Blanch.jpg" /> <img width="2500" height="1667" width_o="2500" height_o="1667" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/f7b71a356bb0fc7a4bbb82337f57d7826e2928f74a2aeddf6a4e64647beef3aa/0020-TUBE-GALLERY--Grimalt-de-Blanch.jpg" data-mid="193858638" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/f7b71a356bb0fc7a4bbb82337f57d7826e2928f74a2aeddf6a4e64647beef3aa/0020-TUBE-GALLERY--Grimalt-de-Blanch.jpg" /> <img width="2500" height="1667" width_o="2500" height_o="1667" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/8c1dde8da462466d538913250650b7ae412db5b00ee51de4b471e8e7f2c59ddf/0088-TUBE-GALLERY--Grimalt-de-Blanch.jpg" data-mid="193865016" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/8c1dde8da462466d538913250650b7ae412db5b00ee51de4b471e8e7f2c59ddf/0088-TUBE-GALLERY--Grimalt-de-Blanch.jpg" /><img width="2500" height="1667" width_o="2500" height_o="1667" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/a361a0f5b53626a3412a9b3f8e115bf85537bbf771672ff9e62d5f1e282bd1fb/0082-TUBE-GALLERY--Grimalt-de-Blanch.jpg" data-mid="193859272" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/a361a0f5b53626a3412a9b3f8e115bf85537bbf771672ff9e62d5f1e282bd1fb/0082-TUBE-GALLERY--Grimalt-de-Blanch.jpg" /> <img width="2500" height="1667" width_o="2500" height_o="1667" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/db81cfeb05f4d83302da43a7a0ace7af0dbc3d3106af9f09cb2f8096ab8c82b1/0014-TUBE-GALLERY--Grimalt-de-Blanch.jpg" data-mid="193858776" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/db81cfeb05f4d83302da43a7a0ace7af0dbc3d3106af9f09cb2f8096ab8c82b1/0014-TUBE-GALLERY--Grimalt-de-Blanch.jpg" /> <img width="1784" height="1317" width_o="1784" height_o="1317" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/e45242ae7b9948d63ac7a946d128c384b134adb4b17444fdcd6650bb59345884/0222.jpg" data-mid="193859687" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/e45242ae7b9948d63ac7a946d128c384b134adb4b17444fdcd6650bb59345884/0222.jpg" /> https://elainetam.net/Fieldnotes Sat, 11 Apr 2026 08:52:57 +0000 Elaine M.L. Tam https://elainetam.net/Fieldnotes Fieldnotes is an artist-run publishing project based in Newham in east London, where I moonlight as Senior Editor. Founded in 2020, Fieldnotes aims to promote and support non-conforming creative practices that pioneer new cultural forms. We produce an annual print journal (incredibly seven to date, see all of them here) alongside a public programme of workshops, mentoring opportunities, radio broadcasts, screenings and readings.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; <img width="956" height="630" width_o="956" height_o="630" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/fbd0fad892f96ccde841fdf4520e7f032b5f44e42a837fd01c12115251d2d8f1/Screenshot-2023-03-27-at-22.01.08.png" data-mid="247095767" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/956/i/fbd0fad892f96ccde841fdf4520e7f032b5f44e42a837fd01c12115251d2d8f1/Screenshot-2023-03-27-at-22.01.08.png" /> ’Zoning’ workshop, South London Gallery, 2022. Photo: Bella Marrin. Because Fieldnotes’ activities and achievements are so numerous, I suggest you simply subscribe to the newsletter here to keep up to date with the various strands, which are run by Fieldnotes and friends. Nonetheless, below is a visual diary with images in no particular order, including of the workshops we regularly run. These range from one-off in-person indoors and outdoors, to 6-week programs we refer to as ‘Fieldnotes School’. In the last arc, we put together an e-pub comprising solely of writing created during ‘School’ time. Plenty is much/ I’m managing (2025) features writing with and by Lora S, Fer Boyd, Alice Dawson, Zoe Ranson, Alexandra Kumala, Holly Zijderveld, Miriam Stoney, Yasamin Ghalehnoie, Lidija Kononenko, Stephane Lambion, Tallulah Griffith, Natalie Elliot, Ezra Allen, Josh Philpott, Emily Macrander and Chika Hasebe. Best thing is it’s free to download from here – happy reading! <img width="5474" height="3039" width_o="5474" height_o="3039" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/b78514a6587e062b65cf42ebbd00c2dd417396f48cdfb095333cbcd49ceb452b/950x350-gray-solid-color-background.jpg" data-mid="247106369" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/b78514a6587e062b65cf42ebbd00c2dd417396f48cdfb095333cbcd49ceb452b/950x350-gray-solid-color-background.jpg" />FN007 (2025) features Riel Bellow, Richard Siken, Gelare Khoshgozaran, Ágota Kristóf &amp; Chris Andrews, Tatum Howey, dove, Christine Kirubi, Kevin Jerome Everson &amp; Alan Martín Segal, Solvej Balle &amp; Barbara J. Haveland, Richard Phoenix, Ektoras Arkomanis, Moyra Davey, Kami Enzie, Julius Eastman, Suma G &amp; Richard Prins, Jăk Skŏt, Rodrigo Toscano and Adrienne Herr.&nbsp;<img width="1200" height="692" width_o="1200" height_o="692" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/0b2c8f6ada0614e04320a42a6d135bd9ee1bcde27e00827613a0f63b7f33e8e4/Image-13.jpeg" data-mid="247106364" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/0b2c8f6ada0614e04320a42a6d135bd9ee1bcde27e00827613a0f63b7f33e8e4/Image-13.jpeg" />‘Illegible’ writing workshop, Asymmetry Foundation, London, 2025. Photo: Jiaying Kou. <img width="3423" height="2168" width_o="3423" height_o="2168" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/9e53657a1ea182005992f05b56e3d70ca305c913898480aea7a03488ef18ad91/IMG_7577.JPG" data-mid="247095859" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/9e53657a1ea182005992f05b56e3d70ca305c913898480aea7a03488ef18ad91/IMG_7577.JPG" />Agnieszka Szczotka performing ‘The Deceiver’ (FN004), Forma HQ, London, 2022. &nbsp; <img width="1300" height="1064" width_o="1300" height_o="1064" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/94c4abd4762e218b38f567798f9bed902e290d2d33719b42b83a4704537547a8/FIELDNOTES_2-_1_.jpg" data-mid="247096053" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/94c4abd4762e218b38f567798f9bed902e290d2d33719b42b83a4704537547a8/FIELDNOTES_2-_1_.jpg" />FN001 (2021) features Lauren Berlant &amp; Kathleen Stewart, Wytske van Keulen, Zara Joan Miller, Estelle Hoy, Rob Halpern, Ana Vaz &amp; Ben Rivers, Matthias Connor, Wythe Marschall, Sarah Mangold, Patrick Keiller, Helen Marten, Lulu Wolf, Emily Hunt Kivel, Amparo Dávila trans. Audrey Harris &amp; Matthew Gleeson, Ulrike Almut Sandig trans. Karen Leeder, Malcolm Bradley &amp; Juliette Pépin, David Manley, Eloise Lawson. <img width="1200" height="944" width_o="1200" height_o="944" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/73cae6000f62cd8ff0d360946a87b41f36ed419c09e7944eaa424b227430c22d/Image-11.jpeg" data-mid="247106366" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/73cae6000f62cd8ff0d360946a87b41f36ed419c09e7944eaa424b227430c22d/Image-11.jpeg" />‘Calendrics’ writing workshop, Stratford, London, 2023.&nbsp; <img width="3543" height="2362" width_o="3543" height_o="2362" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/9d2a0c3a8203c08f0f6cb7c369da7f780a89c2f2a7350754fa7e10170f9dae52/FN006_Cover_web.jpg" data-mid="247106367" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/9d2a0c3a8203c08f0f6cb7c369da7f780a89c2f2a7350754fa7e10170f9dae52/FN006_Cover_web.jpg" />FN006 (2024) features Anne Carson, Joe Clark, Elijah Jackson, Manuela De Laborde Noguez, Jonas Eika, Sherilyn Nicolette Hellberg, Ocean Vuong, Vanessa Billy, D.S. Marriott, Stephen Emmerson, Kidist Amberber, Robert Beavers, Natasha Cox, Gregory J. Markopoulos, Chris Kraus, Emmett Lewis, Tava Tedesco, Flo Ray, Imane Boukaila, Chris Martin, Adam Wolfond and Rasha Abdulhadi.&nbsp; <img width="3340" height="2281" width_o="3340" height_o="2281" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/57b19eb4b1cdf38d85268a5d8d1083fdf8246be303997113725b5d769ccbe2e4/IMG_0842.JPG" data-mid="247095770" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/57b19eb4b1cdf38d85268a5d8d1083fdf8246be303997113725b5d769ccbe2e4/IMG_0842.JPG" /> Fieldnotes writing workshop, Somerset House Studios, 2023. &nbsp;