Whitney Biennial 2017
Mar 17–June 11, 2017
Asad Raza
46
Floor 6
Born 1974 in Buffalo, NY
Lives in New York, NY
In Root sequence. Mother tongue, Asad Raza brings the forest—a space of myth and fairy tales—into the Museum. Raza has described the twenty-six trees growing in the space as characters, individual inhabitants in a living network that includes the humans charged with caring for them. Included in the installation are personal possessions belonging to the trees’ caretakers. Raza intends to create an environment that gives visitors a parklike respite from the tasks of viewing, judgment, and critique that usually constitute the museum experience.
As part of Root sequence. Mother tongue (2017), Asad Raza has invited a series of guests to occupy the installation with choreographic, musical, and intellectual events for weekend visitors to the museum. Comprising mentors, friends, and younger creative practitioners, the group is a plurivocal portrait of the artist’s community. View the full program.
Caretakers: Natalie Ball, Jaquen Castellanos, WooJae Chung, Descha Daemgen, Leah Goudsmit , Nikima Jagudajev, Abigail Levine, Elena Light, Jordan Morley, Jody Oberfelder, Rafay Rashid, Drue Schwartz; Horticulturist: Tim Kerins; Scents: Alia Raza; Sound recordings: Nicolas Becker.
Root sequence. Mother tongue, 2017
Asad Raza (b. 1974), detail of Root sequence. Mother tongue, 2017. Whitney Biennial 2017. Photograph © Paula Court