Latham Zearfoss, preserve (Wellington). 2019. Image courtesy of the artist.

a known unknown is an experimental lecture with sounds and visuals that seeks to creatively interpret and contextualise Zearfoss’s art practice. Over the past decade, Zearfoss has produced a robust and diverse body of work within the realms of cinema, sound art, social practice and sculpture. Zearfoss’s practice unpacks the formation of marginal subjectivities, in particular how they navigate the dueling burdens of collective struggle and politicised desires. a known unknown is a gleeful dalliance through tropes of fictional writing and public storytelling, political science and abstraction. In this queer haze arises an elliptical narrative of past projects, present ethical dilemmas, and the current exhibition, ships in the night, on view at The Engine Room, Massey University between 21 February - 15 March.

a known unknown takes its name, in part, from an infamous statement made in 2002 by former United States Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld, wherein he referred to the lack of evidence that the Iraqi government was supplying weapons of mass destruction to terrorist groups as “unknown unknowns”.

For more information on Latham Zearfoss, please visit their website or read their bio on our website.