The South African artist William Kentridge, to whom the SKD from September 2025 is dedicating a major exhibition festival to celebrate his 70th birthday, developed with “Rubrics” a series of works between 2016 and 2019 with phrases or words drawn in blue or red on found printed paper. Unlike the German word “Rubrik” (=column, category), the English “Rubrics” stand for instructions, especially on exam papers, which are often printed in a different style or colour. In Kentridge's work, these “instructions” are laconic and without exclamation or question marks: “Let us try for once not to be right” or “To what end”. They question what is self-evident and the foundations of our actions, thus calling on our inner attitude.

„Let Us Try For Once Not To Be Right“, 2019, Lapis Lazuli pigment on ledger paper, 32.3 x 40.5 cm, Courtesy Kentridge Studio, © William Kentridge