Water After All
Featured images
John Akomfrah, still from Vertigo Sea, 2015.
48 min. 30 sec. Purchased jointly by the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, with funds provided by the Pritzker Traubert Visionary Art Acquisition Fund, and by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, 2018
John Akomfrah, still from Vertigo Sea, 2015. 48 min. 30 sec. Purchased jointly by the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, with funds provided by the Pritzker Traubert Visionary Art Acquisition Fund, and by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, 2018
© Smoking Dogs Films; Courtesy Lisson Gallery
John Akomfrah, still from Vertigo Sea, 2015.
48 min. 30 sec. Purchased jointly by the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, with funds provided by the Pritzker Traubert Visionary Art Acquisition Fund, and by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, 2018
Alfredo Jaar, Geography = War, 1991. Duratrans, light boxes, 55-gallon metal barrels, and water. Dimensions variable. Collection Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, gift of Mr. and Mrs. M. A. Lipschultz and Maremont Corporation by exchange, 1992.89.a-ddd.
© Alfredo Jaar. Courtesy of Galerie Lelong, New York. Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago
William Kentridge, Felix in Exile, 1994. 35mm film transferred to video. Dimensions variable. Collection Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, gift of Susan and Lewis Manilow, 2001.23
© 2001 William Kentridge Photo © MCA Chicago
Judy Ledgerwood, Composition in Yellow and Grey, 1987. Oil and encaustic on canvas. 90 × 120 in. (228.6 × 304.8 cm). Collection Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Gift of Wendy and John Cartland, 1996.44
Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago
Catherine Opie, Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer (Lake Michigan), 2004–5. Chromogenic development prints: 4 prints, each: 49 ¼ × 39 ¼ in. (125.1 × 99.7 cm); framed: 51 × 41 × 2 in. (129.5 × 104.1 × 5.1 cm). Collection Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Joseph and Jory Shapiro Fund by exchange, 2006.1.a–d.
© 2004 Catherine Opie Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago
Carrie Mae Weems, Ebo Landing from the Sea Islands series, 1992. Gelatin silver prints and text panel. Three parts, each framed: 20 15/16 × 21 in. (53.2 × 53.3 cm). Collection Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, gift from The Howard and Donna Stone Collection, 2002.67.a-c.
© 1992 Carrie Mae Weems Photo: Michal Raz-Russo, © MCA ChicagoAbout the Exhibition
Water After All reveals a glimpse of the many connections between humans and water.
Primarily featuring works from the MCA Collection, this exhibition is centered around our recent acquisition of Ghana-born British filmmaker John Akomfrah's Vertigo Sea. Presented in a spellbinding, three-screen installation, Akomfrah uses archival images, nature cinematography, and staged recreations; crossing time and space to reveal the poetic awe and horror of humanity's relationship with water. The artworks surrounding Vertigo Sea expand the exhibition's thematic focus, diving deeper into our reliance on, exploitation of, and contact with our precious environment, including works by Catherine Opie, Guillermo Galindo, John Gerrard, Alfredo Jaar, William Kentridge, and others.
To emphasize the timeless connection of humans and water, exhibition curators selected literary quotes that explore aquatic themes. These excerpts greet visitors in the galleries in preparation for viewing the beautiful and traumatic works featured in the exhibition.
"Naturally men are drowned in a storm, but it is a perfectly straightforward affair, and the depths of the sea are only water after all."
Virginia Woolf
Artists Included in the Exhibition
- John Akomfrah (British, b. 1957)
- Lynn Davis (American, b. 1944)
- Tacita Dean (English, b. 1965)
- Guillermo Galindo (Mexican, b. 1960)
- John Gerrard (Irish, b. 1974)
- Jenny Holzer (American, b. 1950)
- Alfredo Jaar (Chilean, b. 1956)
- Jenny Kendler (American, b. 1980)
- William Kentridge (South African, b. 1955)
- Judy Ledgerwood (American, b. 1959)
- Basim Magdy (Egyptian, b. 1977)
- Boris Mikhailov (Ukrainian, b. 1938)
- Nicodemus Nowyook (Uqumiut, 1902–1984)
- Catherine Opie (American, b. 1961)
- Pope.L (American, b. 1955)
- Mara Eve Robbins (American, b. 1971)
- Carrie Mae Weems (American, b. 1953)
Installation Images
Installation view, Water After All, MCA Chicago December 14, 2019–June 14, 2020
Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago
Installation view, Water After All, MCA Chicago. December 14, 2019–June 14, 2020.
Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago
Installation view, Water After All, MCA Chicago. December 14, 2019–June 14, 2020. Work shown: Judy Ledgerwood, Composition in Yellow and Grey, 1987. Oil and encaustic on canvas; 90 × 120 in. (228.6 × 304.8 cm). Collection Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Gift of Wendy and John Cartland, 1996.44.
Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago
Installation view, Water After All, MCA Chicago. December 14, 2019–June 14, 2020. Work shown: John Akomfrah, Vertigo Sea, 2015. 48 min. 30 sec. Purchased jointly by the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, with funds provided by the Pritzker Traubert Visionary Art Acquisition Fund, and by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, 2018. © Smoking Dogs Films; Courtesy Lisson Gallery.
Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago
Installation view, Water After All, MCA Chicago. December 14, 2019–June 14, 2020
Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago
Installation view, Water After All, MCA Chicago. December 14, 2019 – June 14, 2020
Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago
Installation view, Water After All, MCA Chicago. December 14, 2019–June 14, 2020.
Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago
Installation view, Water After All, MCA Chicago. December 14, 2019–June 14, 2020. Work shown: Alfredo Jaar, Geography = War, 1991. Duratrans, light boxes, 55-gallon metal barrels, and water. Dimensions variable. Collection Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, gift of Mr. and Mrs. M. A. Lipschultz and Maremont Corporation by exchange, 1992.89.a-ddd. © Alfredo Jaar. Courtesy of Galerie Lelong, New York.
Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago
Installation view, Water After All, MCA Chicago. December 14, 2019 – June 14, 2020
Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago
December 14, 2019 – June 14, 2020. Work shown: Pope.L, Flint Water Project, 2017. 232 16 oz. plastic bottles of contaminated tap water obtained in Flint, MI, from the kitchen faucet of resident Tiantha Williams; wallpaper, shelves, faucet, three framed photographs by Eric Dutro, City of Flint public service announcement flyer and City of Flint “Sorry, we missed you!” door tag (both print on vinyl), foam, cardboard, packing tape, stickers, and permanent marker. Dimensions variable. Courtesy of the artist and Mitchell-Innes & Nash, New York.
Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA ChicagoTranscripts
John Akomfrah, Vertigo Sea, 2015.
Purchased jointly by the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, with funds provided by the Pritzker Traubert Visionary Art Acquisition Fund, and by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, 2018
Funding & Credits
The exhibition is organized by Bana Kattan, former MCA Barjeel Global Fellow, Jack Schneider, MCA Curatorial Assistant, and Nina Wexelblatt, former MCA Curatorial Assistant. It is presented in the Sylvia Neil and Daniel Fischel Galleries on the museum's second floor.
Lead support for Water After All is provided by The Pritzker Traubert Collection Exhibition Fund.