The Human Animal Covers Itself in Text
The Written Image collaboration between myself and Samuel Tongue
Second meeting words:
The uniquely human ways we separate ourselves from animals, so well that we forget that humans are animals. Written language, belief and textiles are all human constructs.
The sanctity of text, the consecration of language. Language, symbols, sigils; the marks we place upon our world to imply importance and meaning, and their design which conveys that importance.
Illuminated texts, text must have context. Hieroglyphs, pictographs, runes and alphabets. The etymology of text|textile, the origins of the written language in drawing, fusing language and imagery: to write an image – to draw a poem
‘graphein‘ is the Greek for ‘to write, or ‘to draw’
At this stage we will develop a visual language, part of Sam and part of myself- a combined way of imparting meaning through words and drawings. I will be developing the shapes of the letters and words themselves, integrating symbols into the text, text becoming part of the drawing. The design of the words’ alphabet, created together with the words themselves.
Before we look at the physical printing, the where and upon what, it is the content which we will be printing that Sam and I are both concentrating on. He will provide me with the raw materials, the words in their order and form.
I will take these words and shape their forms together with imagery into designs, forms with words.
We will then tackle how these forms of [words and images || images and words] will be created, birthed onto objects to become physical things.
As an artist and a poet we are an interesting pair, both with a strong focus on disparate areas of study which have clicked together in a unique combination of the two.
Sam is a theologian, his inspiring interest in the origins of language and the etymology of words leading us towards this exploration and my practice giving these themes a physical outcome.