Beautiful world, where are you? at St George’s Hall

Sara Jaspan, Exhibitions Editor

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Beautiful world, where are you?

14 July-28 October 2018

Always double check opening hours with the venue before making a special visit.

Naeem Mohaiemen, Two Meetings and a Funeral, 2017. Beautiful world, where are you? at St George's Hall – Liverpool Biennial 2018
Courtesy of Liverpool Biennial
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Liverpool Biennial is well known for the opportunities it often brings to step inside some of the city’s most unusual or rarely accessible spaces (such as the Toxteth Reservoir which provided the dramatic backdrop for Rita McBride’s atmospheric light installation in 2016). But this year it has surpassed itself, presenting a whole series of works in the former underground prison cells and original courtroom of the Grade I listed St George’s Hall. Fittingly, this section of the festival has a distinctly political flavour, dealing with issues of power, authority and social justice.

We’re especially looking forward to encountering Turner Prize 2018 nominee Naeem Mohaiemen’s powerful three-channel documentary Two Meetings and a Funeral (2017), which examines Cold War-era power struggles and chronicles the pivot of the Third World project from Socialism to its ideological counterpart Islamism. As well as a newly commissioned film by artist Inci Eviner, exploring ideas of heaven that oppose systems of patriarchal order and the long-established links between religion and power-wielding authority.

Elsewhere, Lamia Joreige’s three-channel video installation After the River (2016) uses the river Nahr in Beirut to reflect on the notion of borders. And Aslan Gaisumov’s moving film installation Keicheyuhea (2017) highlights a known but little-discussed chapter of history, following the journey of the artist’s grandmother as she returns to her lost homeland in North Caucasus (Southern Russia) for the first time since the displacement of her family during World War II as part of the forced-deportation of Chechen and Ingush nations.

Counterbalancing the many complex, highly-charged narratives that animate this section of the festival, Joyce Wieland’s 1967 classic piece of experimental cinema Sailboat should provide a welcome space for contemplation. Its pure, childlike image of a yacht bobbing on the distant horizon offers a stripped-back meditation on desire, loss and yearning for an ideal perfection, always just out of reach.

Beautiful world, where are you? at St. George’s Hall also features a work by Chou Yu-Cheng interrogating the act of protest, and Modest Livelihood – a collaboration between Brian Jurgen and Duane Linklater in response to both artists’ First Nations identity.

Check out the rest of our guide to Liverpool Biennial 2018 here.

Where to go near Beautiful world, where are you? at St George’s Hall

City Centre
Music venue
Liverpool Empire Theatre

The largest two-tier theatre in the country, the Liverpool Empire Theatre boasts a busy programme of performances and events all year round.

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Royal Court Theatre

The Royal Court Theatre stages mostly home-grown comedies, somewhat mannered and self-conscious reflections of an inward-looking city.

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Hotel
The Liner Hotel

The Liner Hotel offers accommodation in style, with comfort, luxury and a seasonal menu in a central Liverpool location.

City Centre
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Walker Art Gallery

The Walker Art Gallery is a small but perfectly formed traditional gallery. It houses an impressive collection of paintings, sculpture and decorative art from 13th century to present day. 

Liverpool Central Library
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Liverpool Central Library

The final building in the World Heritage Site of William Brown Street to be revamped, the wonderfully restored Central Library takes pride of place in Liverpool’s architecturally stunning Cultural Quarter.

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Liverpool Playhouse

The Liverpool Playhouse, a local gem of a theatre, has a varied programme of events from a rock’n’roll panto, to live poetry and comedy.

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Henry Bohn Books

Prepare to do some browsing and digging – this second hand bookshop is full of hidden treasures just waiting to be discovered

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