MONOCULTURE | A Recent History

Jimmie Durham has made a series titled Staffs for The Center of the World. The first staff was made in Brussels in 1995, and others in Yakutsk, Rheims, Pläsy, Antwerp, Jølster, Prague, Berlin, Vancouver, Winnipeg, and this one in Gwangju, South Korea, in the occasion of the Gwangju Biennale in 2004. These poles always have a mirror attached to them, which according to the artist reflect the bad thoughts and bad spirits onto themselves. “Be warned, therefore, that a moveable pole cannot support the center of the world. Only trees can.” - writes Durham in a text belonging to the installation The Center of the World or How to Get to Chalma - “There are seven continents. Each has seven sacred trees. (maybe more, and I’m not sure what happens on all the smaller islands.) Find one that you like and place your own umbilical cord or its equivalent among the tree’s branches. Do not salute.”