Matthew Day Jackson Book Lab

Matthew Day Jackson took part in the residency programme at Hauser & Wirth Somerset from August 2018 to January 2019. During this time he worked towards his current exhibition, entitled ‘Pathetic Fallacy’, as well as his forthcoming exhibition at Serlachius Museums in Finland, opening in May 2019. The opportunity to produce a publication for the exhibition in Finland led Jackson to consider the range of forms that an exhibition guide could take.

The outcome is a guide to the exhibition in the form of a fantasy tabletop role-playing game that will go into production later this year. The game, ‘Maa’, provides a platform for the artist to invite others to experience his concerns for politics, technology and individual experience. These serious issues are presented in a make-believe world organised by not only the codes of board games but by a myriad of cultural and scientific references, from Freemasonry rituals to colour theory.

This Book Lab is dedicated to Matthew Day Jackson and visitors are invited into a laboratory, where specially selected texts provide an insight into Jackson’s reading and inspirations. Through a display of sketches and ephemera visitors can explore the premise of ‘Maa’, the development of the characters, the structure and the visuals. In the middle of the room there is a prototype for the table and chairs designed especially to house the game’s players. The evolution of design, including furniture, has been an important consideration for the narrative and gameplay of ‘Maa’.

About Book Lab The Hauser & Wirth Book Lab is a project devoted to exploring the important place that books and prints occupy in the practice of artists. Building upon Hauser & Wirth’s curatorial and publishing activities, the Lab presents thematic installations, displays, and programming that invite reflection, creative thinking, and further conversation about the world of printed matter and its connection to artists’ ideas and objectives.