Science Museum, London 7.30pm, 29 May 2019

Le Grand K

A night of readings and performances in honour of the dead queen of kilograms and the eponymous book, Le Grand K. Le Grand K is an anthology, an obituary, a response by artists and writers to the dematerialisation of the kilogram, in poetry, prose, images, scripts, and possible worlds.

On the 20th of May, 2019, on what is known as World Metrology Day, The International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM) redefined the value of the kilogram. The physical standard, a cylinder of platinum-iridium alloy held in the BIPM vault in Paris, and kept under constant conditions since 1889, became a relic destined for a museum shelf. The International Prototype of the Kilogram, nicknamed Le Grand K, was replaced with a set of instructions for measuring 1 kg exactly, using electric current and the value of the Planck constant.

On this year’s World Metrology Day, we departed for a reality that is perpetually performed, where inert definitions lose their grasp and are afloat among rocks, trees, chairs, ants, rooms, plastic, and hearts.

On Wednesday, the 29th of May, there will be an evening of readings and performances, an iteration of the live event that accompanied the book launch of Le Grand K, at the Science Museum. The event takes place as part of the Science Museum Late: The Measure of All Things, organised in partnership with National Physical Laboratory.

With work by: Julia Wolf / Alice Bucknell / Arieh Frosh / Marijn Ottenhof / John Henry Newton / The Idle Institute / Johanna Flato / Demelza Toy Toy & Annie Pender / Name Surname / Károly Tendl / Fiona Glen / Flo Ray / Samuel Capps / Dario Srbic / Farvash / Cameron Randall / Luca George & Déas McMorrow / Col Self / Andrea Khôra / Xenia Busalova / Mathilde Heu / Tatjana Vinona Joneska / Allan Gardner / Judith Hagan / Léonie Sinden / Nikolai / Dasha Loyko

Introduction by Jeremy Millar

Edited & curated by: Dasha Loyko / Károly Tendl / Andrea Khôra

Identity design by Farvash