For 2021-2022, ICA LA invites two unique publishers to take part in a Bookshelf Residency: Gato Negro Ediciones, based in Mexico City, and Phoneme Media, an imprint of Deep Vellum books based in San Francisco. There is an exhibition installation with video in the Annex gallery with a special selection of books available for sale, including a catalog of the exhibition.

In our Annex, Gato Negro Ediciones and Phoneme Media present PÁJAROS INVISIBLE(S) BIRDS!>:* SINGING SILENTLY REFLECTING CANTANDO;). The exhibition brings into visual dialogue the publishers’ commitment to amplifying a vast range of voices from around the world. Deploying Gato Negro’s signature graphic style, the walls of the gallery are covered by over 200 risograph tabloid prints featuring text excerpts and images from their 200+ published books and translations in over twenty languages. The prints are arranged to converse, complement, and even clash. Upon entering the space, one is engaged in an exercise of concentration, dispersion, choreography, singing, and melody. PÁJAROS INVISIBLE(S) BIRDS!>:* SINGING SILENTLY REFLECTING CANTANDO;) calls for a discussion of the possibilities and limits of understanding the printed word in translation.

The installation includes a montage of video work created with writers and collaborators of Phoneme Media. Poetry from the Democratic Republic of the Congo converses with text and imagery from the Chamishko IDP Camp (Internally Displaced People) in Northern Iraq. Imagery from São Tomé and Príncipe contrasts with experimental film from Mexico. Language—and languages, including Isthmus Zapotec, Japanese, and Kirundi—accrete in layers of meaning and contradiction to contribute toward the Annex’s print installation’s exploration of possible connections beyond the confines of an individual work.

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En nuestro Anexo, Gato Negro Ediciones y Phoneme Media presentan PÁJAROS INVISIBLE(S) BIRDS!>:* SINGING SILENTLY REFLECTING CANTANDO;). La exposición pone en diálogo visual el compromiso de las editoriales de amplificar una variedad de voces de todo el mundo. Desplegando el estilo gráfico característico de Gato Negro, las paredes de la galería se cubren con más de 200 impresiones risográficas tamaño tabloide con fragmentos de texto e imágenes de los más de 200 libros y traducciones publicados en más de veinte idiomas. Las impresiones están dispuestas para invitar a la conversación, complementarse e incluso chocar entre sí. Al entrar en el espacio nos envuelve un ejercicio de concentración, dispersión, coreografía, canto y melodía. PÁJAROS INVISIBLE(S) BIRDS!>:* SINGING SILENTLY REFLECTING CANTANDO;) invita a un debate sobre las posibilidades y los límites de entender la traducción de la palabra impresa.

Gato Negro Ediciones
Building on the legacy of radical independent publishing in Mexico, Gato Negro Ediciones, founded by designer León Muñoz Santini in Mexico City in 2013, has published over 170 books exploring the intersections of art, literature, and radical thought. Printed primarily on risograph and featuring the press’ iconic design, Gato Negro’s politically-engaged catalogue now includes the  feminist imprint Miau!, edited by Andrea García Flores.

Phoneme Media
Founded by poet and translator Shook in Los Angeles in 2013, Phoneme has since published award-winning translations from over 30 languages, with a special emphasis on underrepresented literatures from around the world, including the first ever book-length translations from Isthmus Zapotec, Lingala, and Uyghur. Today an imprint of Deep Vellum Publishing, Phoneme's catalogue  features primarily poetry, with recent and forthcoming books from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Curação, Cypress, Haiti, and Rojava.