Hall of Half-life explores what possibilities are available for art in the so-called anthropocene. The majority of the pieces on display at GrazMuseum were commissioned specifically for the exhibition curated by Tessa Giblin. 'Earth is riddled with signals that terrestrial timekeepers use to tell the story of our planet while they carve up geological history', the introduction begins, and Hall of Half-life gathers artists that are interested in both creating new signals and re-interpreting old ones. Lara Almarecgui’s Mineral Rights, Austria, in which she attempts to acquire the mineral rights to iron and in-so-doing to explore the relationship between large-scale mineral extraction and property ownership and the there is Simon Boudvin’s photographs of french caves and mines. 'To build a space somewhere, you need to create another one, from where you extract the material. Each building has a 'hidden sister' he explains. Hall of half-life excavates and brings to life these 'hidden sisters' that lie just beyond our scope of vision, on the other side of modern comfort.

With contributions from: 
Lara Almarcegui, Stéphane Béna Hanly, Simon Boudvin, Gerard Byrne, Regina de Miguel, Mikala Dwyer, Geoffrey Farmer, Harun Farocki, Peter Galison, Robb Moss, Mikhail Karikis, Sam Keogh, Jean-Luc Moulène, Lonnie van Brummelen, Siebren de Haan and Ulla von Brandenburg.

Language: English & German

256 pages, 12.4 x 18.6 cm,  softcover, published by Dent-De-Leone (London).