Cosmic Caesious, Cosmic Zinnober, Cosmic Celadon, Cosmic Virescent

Essays that trace connections between the work of Turner Prize-winning artist Tai Shani and the intellectual legacy of Charles Jencks, one of postmodernism’s most playful architectural thinkers.

In this newly edited collection of essays, leading writers trace connections between the unique work of Turner Prize-winning multi-media artist Tain Shani, and the intellectual legacy of Charles Jencks, one of postmodernism’s most playful architectural thinkers. 

Catalysed by Shani’s exhibition The World To Me Was A Secret: Caesious, Zinnober, Celadon, And Virescent, developed for The Cosmic House in 2024, this far-reaching book draws upon the various mythologies metabolised by Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. A surrealist exquisite corpse made real, the writings gathered here reanimate Frankenstein’s Monster within Jencks’ definition of Ad-Hocism, whereby the use of materials and objects for unintended purposes, might yield surreal results.  

A collaboration between The Cosmic House and Strange Attractor Press, Cosmic Caesious, Cosmic Zinnober, Cosmic Celadon, Cosmic Virescent includes newly commissioned works by Anne Boyer, Annabel Frearson, Emily LaBarge, Basyma Saad, and Taylor Le Melle that explore themes of anthropomorphism, the tangled legacies of surrealism, and the Promethean impulse. The book also includes a foreword by Eszter Steierhoffer, Director of The Jencks Foundation, and an introduction and original text by artist Tai Shani.Tai Shani is a Tutor in Contemporary Art Practice at the Royal College of Art. Shani's multidisciplinary practice, comprising performance, film, photography, and installation, revolves around experimental narrative texts.

Eszter Steierhoffer is Director of The Charles Jencks Foundation.