Counterpublic 2026 reflects the visions, interests and imaginations of St. Louis. Counterpublic's third edition, Coyote Time, presents fifty artist commissions and a selection of historical reinterpretations in sites throughout St. Louis. The video game term 'coyote time' refers to the moment when a character leaps off a cliff only to be held suspended in midair. In this uncertain hang time, the player can make one of three decisions: they can jump back to the ledge; do nothing and accept the risk of falling, or move forward and trust that a platform will appear. Coyote Time proposes both a curatorial methodology and a way of existing in the world, jumping before the next platform has fully materialized and doing so with faith, purpose, and intentionality.
Won Ju Lim's laser-engraved glass panels and sound artwork, Parasiting, will be on view in the exhibition. Parasiting is displayed in a darken room viewed with the use of a flashlight. Tracing historic sites in various states of abandonment across St. Louis, Won Ju Lim hand collected spiderwebs to be laser-engraved onto glass panels and paired with “ghost sounds” from the same sites. Parasiting calls to the memories of St. Louis' historically charged and forgotten locations.
Learn more at counterpublic.org.
