THE ACCOMPANYING BOOK TO SOMEWHAT ETERNAL EXHIBITION AT ACE.

Somewhat Eternal explores the interconnected impacts of displacement and finds hope in acts of ritual and preservation. The publication expands on Youssef’s investigations into relationships to land, dispossession, and enduring beliefs.

Three commissioned texts reflect on the solidarities and postcolonial discourse Youssef’s practice engages with. Latoya Rule—a Wiradjuri/Te Ātiawa, takatāpu/queer writer, poet, and campaigner—writes of solidarity between Aboriginal, Lebanese, and Palestinian communities in Australia. Filmmaker and writer Chi Tran considers Youssef’s metaphysical connections to the world as a form of resistance against colonial regimes. Dr Mykaela Saunders—a Koori/Goori and Lebanese writer and editor, teacher, and researcher—bridges the distances implicit in Youssef’s inheritances.

Somewhat Eternal shares affinities, affirms solidarities, and articulates the political and social relations between those whose own distinct lived experiences trace the global outlines of Youssef’s concerns.

52 pages, 18.5 x 20 cm, softcover.

Somewhat Eternal is a co-commission by Adelaide Contemporary Experimental, the Institute of Modern Art, and UTS Gallery & Art Collection. It is supported by the Creative Australia’s Visual Arts and Crafts Strategy (VACS) Major Commissioning Projects fund and the Gordon Darling Foundation.