[Talk] Mies-en-Abyme: Maria Taniguchi, Architecture, and the Afterimage

• Date: 21 November 2026 ​
• Time: 3.30 – 4.30pm
• Venue: Level 3, Gallery 3, SAM at Tanjong Pagar Distripark ​
• Ticketing: $10 with 1 free redeemable drink from SIP AT SAM
  

What is it about Mies 421 that led Maria Taniguchi to describe the work as “my horror movie”?
In this talk, Joshua Comaroff explores how the film connects a series of uncomfortable ideas—from the spectral architecture of the Barcelona Pavilion to accelerating time, “dead” labour, and images and afterimages in the era of AI and social media—to speculate on its significance today.
The session will conclude with a Q&A moderated by exhibition curator Duncan Bass.

*Title note: A play on architect Mies van der Rohe and mise en abyme (often misspelled "mies"), a French term for an image repeating within itself in an infinite loop.