Call for the Dead #67

Part of a series developed during his residency at STPI, Call for the Dead #67, (2020) and Call for the Dead #73, (2020) are pages from John le Carre’s novel of the same name that have been heavily redacted by contemporary artist Heman Chong, where only the remaining visible verbs provide decontextualised clues to unfolding events.

Redaction makes the act of censorship and its underlying power structure visible. Its historical connections to Cold War espionage and government intelligence underscores the redactor’s position of authority over the text’s author.  Often, the extent of redaction is directly proportional to the power wielded by the one who holds the pen or to the threat posed by the secret itself.

Call for the Dead was the first novel of John Le Carre, the nom de plume of David Cornwall, who briefly worked for British intelligence before becoming a renowned author of spy novels. The bureaucratic performance of redacting the novel is part of the artist’s exploration of the furtive nature of foreign affairs and geopolitical maneuverings.