THE ART OF SURRENDER

On the occasion of his first solo show in Asia, Rashid Johnson speaks to Tatler about cathartic release, healing and coping with anxiety

-  Aaina Bhargava

Over the past two years, Rashid Johnson has been using forgotten or obscure words to title his exhibitions, in an attempt to identify what he's been feeling recently. "I almost feel as if I should just name all of my shows with the shrug emoji," the Brooklyn-based artist jokes. "It does kind of reflect the confusion and uncertainty I feel about trying to understand the recent past."

The title of his summer 2022 solo show, Sodade, at Hauser and Wirth's Menorca gallery, is the Cape Verdean Creole spelling of the Portuguese word saudade, a word describing a sense of longing, loss and melancholy that doesn't have an English equivalent. "I think some of the words that aren't easily translated or defined particularly in English mirror how I've felt about communicating the last few years.

"We're trying to figure out a way to communicate around things that just feel complicated, are unfamiliar and are different."