Image: Installation view, Semiotext(e): Desert Islands, Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, April 4–August 23, 2026. Photo: Jeff McLane / ICA LA
‘Semiotext(e): Desert Islands’ will close at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles on August 23, concluding a presentation that brings the independent press’s literary and theoretical catalogue into the museum’s Annex Gallery. On view since April 4, the exhibition combines printed quotations from Semiotext(e) publications with ‘Dream Machine’ (2026), a sculpture and collage by Hedi El Kholti.
The exhibition presents the material as a visual archipelago of writers’ words, drawing on a publishing history that spans theory, fiction, criticism, activism, satire, sexuality, science fiction and experimental writing. Semiotext(e) was initially known for introducing French theory to American readers and has, over five decades, developed a catalogue that deliberately combines high and low forms of cultural expression.
El Kholti’s ‘Dream Machine’ pays homage to Brion Gysin’s Dreamachine, an object originally created in the 1960s, as well as to the 1978 Nova Convention. Organized by John Giorno and Sylvère Lotringer, the convention brought artists, writers and theorists together to celebrate the work of William S. Burroughs. The installation thus links the press’s publishing activity to a broader history of experimental literature, counterculture and interdisciplinary exchange.
The bookshelves at ICA LA extend the exhibition’s focus beyond the gallery installation. They include selections by Semiotext(e) authors such as Jean Baudrillard, William S. Burroughs, Didier Eribon, Catherine Breillat, the Invisible Committee, Eileen Myles, Veronica Gonzalez Peña, David Wojnarowicz, Abdellah Taïa, Idris Robinson, Félix Guattari, Dodie Bellamy, Gary Indiana, Jackie Wang, Natasha Stagg, Ian Penman, Franco ‘Bifo’ Berardi, Constance Debré, Houria Bouteldja, Serge Daney, Hervé Guibert and Peter Sloterdijk. An anthology, ‘Hatred of Capitalism,’ was published in 2001 to mark Semiotext(e)’s move to the MIT Press as its distributor.
Founded by Sylvère Lotringer, Semiotext(e) is now coedited by El Kholti and Chris Kraus. El Kholti is also the artist behind the exhibition’s central sculptural work, making the presentation both an account of the press’s intellectual network and a current intervention by one of its editors. The exhibition is organized by independent curator Asuka Hisa with Alberto Keossian, ICA LA’s learning and engagement coordinator. The presentation forms part of ICA LA’s Bookshelf Residency program, which is supported by Fieldwork Council and ICA LA Membership, with additional support for the Semiotext(e) residency from Villa Albertine, The French Institute for Culture and Education.
‘Semiotext(e): Desert Islands’ is on view in the Annex Gallery at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, 1717 East 7th Street, through Sunday, August 23. Admission to ICA LA and its related programs is free. On the closing day at 4 p.m., violinist and composer Andrew Tholl will perform Raven Chacon’s ‘Compass,’ a work first presented at ICA LA on the opening day of ‘Speaking in Tongues.’ The museum will then be closed to the public from Monday until Friday, September 18.
