How do cultural institutions and art practices respond to long-standing states of national and international emergency? Khalil Rabah’s artistic practice investigates the future of visual arts production under such conditions. Exploring the relationships between historically sanctioned and experimental exhibition settings, fictional and documentative narratives, and the histories of displacement, his methods not only propose but also produce speculative institutions. Edited by Anthony Downey, the artist’s first major monograph, Falling Forward / Works (1995–2025) presents a comprehensive selection of exhibition materials, previously unseen archival documents and detailed background notes on how Rabah’s methods relate to the broader themes in his work. The volume also introduces new critical writing from curators, authors and researchers on the interrelated subjects of anticipatory aesthetics, subterfuge and fugitive acts; mimicry and performativity; knowledge production; archival technologies; and, crucially, the politics of humour.
The monograph includes essays by Chiara de Cesari, Anthony Downey, Tom Holert, Chrisoula Lionis, Hoor Al Qasimi, Khalil Rabah and Rasha Salti.
To read Anthony’s essay, “Falling Forward: Speculative Practices and Institutional Realisations”, see here
To read Anthony’s interview with Kahlil, “On What Grounds?”, see here For copies of the book, see here
