Into the Labyrinth: Lyotard, Derrida and Immaterial Proofs

A particular encounter between the philosophers Jean-François Lyotard and Jacques Derrida forms the focus of this article. Beginning with an overview of the 1985 exhibition Les Immatériaux, of which Lyotard was co-curator, we will then introduce the writing experiment which was central to this project: Épreuves d’écriture. It is here, as a participant in the so-called ‘trials of writing’, that Derrida’s presence emerges as an important yet somewhat hidden interlocutor for Lyotard. Their dialogue often unfolds at one remove, obscured by the complexities of the project’s set-up, with its networks of constraints and technologies. However, as the article argues, the role of Lyotard as one of the main instigators of the ‘game’ and Derrida’s commitment to the process reveal a scenario that merits closer attention. Such an approach offers a new way of rethinking the philosophical role of the exhibition within Lyotard’s philosophy, aspects of which are echoed in contemporary artistic projects, as highlighted through the work of Korean-American artist Anicka Yi.