The Violence of Vitality
Artist Book
Introduction by Chus Martínez
Published as Art Museum Papers 05 by Museums and Collections, University of Melbourne, 2026
Edition of 500


Download PDF here.


"In Perpetual Peace: A Philosophical Sketch (1795), the German philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) wrote that war is a practice that must be unlearned through law, democratic government, and international institutions. The book was written in the aftermath of the French Revolution in 1789 in a moment defined by extraordinary political turbulence. War-he states-is not a sudden breakdown of order or a natural instinct, but a practice that states actively learn to do. The Violence of Vitality, a text by artist and thinker Neha Choksi, is even more radical."
—Chus Martinez




This is one of three Papers commissioned by Art Museums at the University of Melbourne on the occasion of A velvet ant, a flower and a bird presented at the Potter Museum of Art (19 February–6 June 2026). The three Papers are written by Chus Martínez, Laura Tripaldi, and Neha Choksi. Download Choksi’s Paper as a PDF here. Choksi’s Sugar Train Ride for the Ants was included in the exhibition.