International Curatorial Practice and the Problematic De-territorialization of the ‘Identity’ Show: Deconstructing the Third Guangzhou Triennial, Farewell to Post-Colonialism

The Third Guangzhou Triennial, Farewell to Post-Colonialism (2008) was intended as a return to a searching deconstructivist critique of the relationship between identity and social inequality. This article seeks to problematize that intended significance by drawing attention to ways in which the position adopted by the curators of the exhibition was rendered critically ineffective as a result of the de-territorializing effects of localized discursive restrictions on public display and discussion. In reconsidering the international ‘identity’ show more generally, attention will be drawn towards the necessity of a renewed deconstructive attention not only to specific instances of cultural dominance, but also relationships between curatorial practices and their particular discursive contexts.