OntheoccasionofMartineSyms'exhibition,thiscatalogentitledTotalretracestheartisticpracticeofMartineSymssince2005,immersingreadersinatotalworkofartthatlooksatthe“theateroftheeveryday”,therolesweplayinit,andthesurveillancemechanismsthatcontrolthem.Theartist'sworkbridgesthegapbetweenthepublicandtheprivate,theseenandtheunseen,theinsideandtheoutside.Betweenintimatereferences,historicalarchives,culturalrepresentationsofBlackness,feministhistoryandinvocationsofspirituality,Totalpresentsitselfasaworkinwhichthemechanismsofidentityconstructionareplayedoutandreflected.AuthorClaudiaRankinewritesanacademicessayanalyzingMartineSyms'bodyofwork.ArtistandpoetHannahBlackcomposesanexperimentaltextbasedonastrologicalreferencestoSyms'personality.Finally,exhibitioncuratoranddirectoroftheLafayetteFoundationRebeccaLamarcheisinconversationwiththeguestartist.