A collectible, slipcased, two-volume overview on the South African artist William Kentridge, featuring a unique lapis lazuli print.

Covering 40 years of South African artist William Kentridge's (born 1955) internationally acclaimed production in drawing, stop-frame animation, video, prints, sculpture, tapestry and large-scale installation, »Why Should I Hesitate« stands as a definitive statement on his vast oeuvre. This deluxe production, published in an edition of 1,800 copies, is comprised of two slipcased volumes with a unique print in lapis lazuli, each copy stamped and numbered.

The title references Kentridge’s primary practice of drawing and how this core activity informs and enables his studio practice. It also references the impact of individual action on history and the reverse―how history shapes the contemporary and the future―and serves as a commentary on various shifting hegemonies of power politics, economies, language and the authority to narrate history.

The work of the South African artist William Kentridge includes drawing, animation, film, sculpture, performance, music, theatre, opera and interdisciplinary projects. "Why Should I Hesitate: Sculpture" deals for the first time with sculptures, from opera props via machines to monumental bronzes; "Putting Drawings to Work" deals with all of the facets in over 40 years of work. Together, with over 700 pages, the two publications are the largest and most comprehensive presentation of Kentridge's work.