This large volume encompasses the journey through the first Liverpool Biennial International Exhibition in 1999. The theme of the festival was TRACE. TRACE was a thematic exhibition that brought international artists to realise their work in Liverpool. Liverpool’s particular geographical location as a port, and its social, economic and political histories in relation to the rest of the world, make it an ideal starting point from which to explore the theme of the trace in contemporary international art. Given this context, the exhibition is ideally positioned to investigate the opportunities as well as the dilemmas of international cultural exchange. The theme TRACE suggests materials or objects that allow us to reconstruct histories through our personal memories and associations. Art that employs the concept of TRACE encourages every experience of the work to be personal, thereby ensuring constant renewal of its meaning with every encounter. Many of the artists involved in the exhibition reveal specific histories and views of the everyday through their installations. Others look inward, examining the nature of consciousness, memory, loss and desire. In each case the viewer is invited to enjoy the diversity of approach while also discovering the common trends that make up TRACE.

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