* DESTINATION / DESTINY

As we enter the curatorial as a field of research, two points have resonated with me during our group discussions: First, is the parallel between research and the curatorial which allows us to think about the curatorial as a point of order and a point of pause, and second is the paradox that this duality presents us with, as we set out on a path that carries with it the insecurities of not knowing our destination. Derrida uses the word fermata for points of pause, which in music is the notation that indicates that a note should be sustained for longer than its note value would indicate. Exactly how much longer it is held is up to the discretion of the performer or conductor. Rather than leaving us suspended or in suspense, it is possible, I believe, to highlight these points of pause as a kind of praxis. A ‘doing’ that in the moment of research indicates a hesitation as well as a decision. A point of pause, that is not about casting off limits, but is about navigating through certain limitations.

An insistence on pursuing research that at the same time avoids the traps of assurances along the way: the “disguised re-centering”, “the hegemony of a problematic” – to use Derrida’s words – that convince us that we are indeed on the right path. (Sarah Pierce, 2010)