Since the late 1980s, Tom Burr has been reusing appropriation strategies in his art. Not confined to his photographic and sculptural works, they also lend momentum to many of his writings. The artist has created assemblages of personal writings and sources, differing in nature and style, which he has used as both conceptual and aesthetic materials in his oeuvre. Thus, Burr extends his art praxis into the field of writing, and vice versa; art and language cannot be dissociated from each other. At times, the text precedes and anticipates the work; at others, it emanates and results from it; in most instances, it is an integral part of it. Words constitute the work.
Thirty-seven texts—works, poems, autobiographical texts, and portraits—have been compiled for the first time in this publication. Written over a period of twenty-four years, they are presented chronologically, enabling us to fully appreciate the conceptual and visual coherence and richness of Burr’s writings.
