‘I think that the point where language starts to break down as a useful tool for communication is the same edge where poetry or art occurs.’ Bruce NaumanThe desire to communicate can be a powerful motive behind the production of art, but it is the fallibility of communication that provides the subject for this exhibition. Curated by Margot Heller, Director of South London Gallery, Incommunicado brings together contemporary international film, video, photography, sculpture, drawing and text-based work to explore the manifestations and consequences of communication going wrong. The importance of language in this context is introduced through work by Samuel Beckett, simultaneously signalling the writer’s influence on younger generations of visual artists. Central to the exhibition is Comédie (1966), a recently re-discovered film made in collaboration with Marin Karmitz, which reveals the poetic and absurd results of separating language from meaning. The exhibition is a rare opportunity to experience the work of internationally established and emerging artists exploring territory that is timeless, provocative, and challenging.Other artists include: Pavel Büchler, Phil Coy, Omer Fast, Angus Fairhurst, Mona Hatoum, Jirí Kolár, Christian Marclay, Bruce Nauman, Hirsch Perlman, Smith/Stewart, Erika Tan, Lawrence Weiner, Francesca Woodman and Chen Zhen. A National Touring Exhibition organised by the Hayward Gallery for the Arts Council of England. Picture credit: Smith/Stewart