Each day of Making Art Public, Agatha Gothe-Snape’s Lion’s Honey saw a performer occupy the exhibition space by reading to themselves a chosen book. Starting with David Grossman’s Lion’s Honey, gifted to the artist by John Kaldor, the performers—including the artist herself—accumulated books of their own choosing to read throughout the exhibition.

Set against a backdrop of archival material, the durational performance saw audience engagement range from silent observation to long conversations and book recommendations. An Instagram account @lionshoney also formed part of the work.

In January 2020, the artist, together with curator Emily Sullivan, hosted a series of Reading Circles with the Lion’s Honey readers. Lion’s Honey: A Reader documents the performance from the perspective of the artist and readers and takes the form of a downloadable PDF.

Commissioned for Kaldor Public Art Projects as part of the exhibition Making Art Public: 50 Years of Kaldor Public Art Projects at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, 7 September 2019 – 16 February 2020

visit Kaldor Public Art Projects website