Language-Art Project 2023
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The act of classifying language to words has frequently been contested by artists who wish to deconstruct associations, and move towards a more intuitive outlook of the world. Many of these artists play with the open form of asemic writing which allows for infinite, evolving and absent meanings.
This decision to move away from disparate native languages responds to the fallibility of words in allowing us to understand one another. These artists question what ideas and connections can we glean from art and language beyond words?
Jasmine Rawlinson, co-curator
May 2023
Artists:
Aylin Leipold
Anastasia Odintsova
Eleana Theophilou (in conjunction with Josephine Pascoe)
Xiaoyu Wang
Stefan J Schaffeld
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Böse, böse, böse!
Aylin Leipold
Resin, wire, and paper, A6
The letters in the sculpture come from a quote out of F. M. Dostojewski’s novel “The Idiot”, translated into German from the original Russian: „Das Mädchen ist phantastisch, das Mädchen ist eigensinning, das Mädchen ist verrückt. Das Mädchen ist böse, böse, böse!“ (“The girl is fantastic, the girl is stubborn, the girl is crazy. The girl is bad, bad, bad!”). While the quote in its original is meant as an insult, taken out of its time and context it becomes an almost motivational exclamation. By deconstructing the sentence into its individual letters, the viewer is asked to explore their associations and find their own words and meaning.
Aylin Leipold is a German-Turkish artist studying BA Fine Art at CSM. Her work explores notions of truth and perception and the relationship of things and ideas.
Instagram: ayttacke
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To whom it may concern
Anastasia Odintsova
Bio-based epoxy resin, grass. 30x 40×1.5cm
The work explores the idea of the information we receive from the form rather than from the content. Such elements as writing format, structure, size and text alignment represent an implicit knowledge. Without even reading we already receive a lot of information through these ‘indirect’ clues. This ‘non-verbal’ communication in handwriting is comparable to the body language in speaking. It shapes our initial perception and prepares us to receive and interpret the content in a certain way. The meaning is already pre-constructed, and our understanding is influenced and defined by this preliminary recognition of shapes and forms.
Anastasia Odintsova is studying BA Fine Art Photography (Year 2) at Camberwell College of Arts. She is interested in the themes of environment, body/space relationship and emotions. She is a native Russian speaker and fluent in French.
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Trace of a song between mother and daughter
Eleana Theophilou in conjunction with Josephine Pascoe
Monotype print on paper (30×40 cm) and a video (1 min 11 sec)
Video: https://youtu.be/Z5oPJXlZKQA
An eco-asemic writing exploration to create a relationship between a three-act narrative structure, a musical score and gestural mark making. Further information on asemic writing and the process of making the artwork are found in the PDF document.
Eleana Theophilou is studying the MA in Fine Art: Digital at Central Saint Martins and she is currently investigating the poetic relationship between image, sound, and creative writing. Josephine Pascoe is a qualified music teacher, a pianist, a violinist and a flautist.
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Conversation Practice
Xiaoyu Wang
Plaster, Willow, Voile, PVC Sheet
This work is based on a small conversation written by the artist, trying to present the sense of language visually. The conversation concentrates on the incomprehension between two individuals and the uselessness of explanation verbally. Lines are drawn according to the mood swings between the dialogue. The voile’s layers and the bottom part’s fading away create a sense of ambiguity and silence. And the twisting and turning of the willows resonate with how we struggled to understand someone else. The audiences are encouraged to look through the layers to intuitively feel the difficulty of understanding.
Xiaoyu Wang is studying MA Fine Art Sculpture in Camberwell. She’s interested in the ambiguity of language and the sense of futility of expression. Xiaoyu is Chinese and majored in French for her bachelor’s degree, speaking Chinese, English and French.
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Splittings
Stefan J Schaffeld
Paper, Pencil, Crayon on folded A3 paper, cut-outs
Video: https://vimeo.com/819779780
A work on paper exploring emotions and unsettling feelings of derealization and depersonalization concealed and revealed in response to the personal experience of dissociation. Going through phases of dissociation becomes meaningful through touching, folding, and unfolding the materiality and through the process of asemic writing that is not restricted or biased by external linguistic meaning. This work invites the viewer to interact, play with, look at, and read what cannot be understood through language alone. The work raises the question of who has the power of meaning, interpretation, and diagnosis and what mental health conditions might mean beyond language. To touch to be touched
Stefan J Schaffeld is a Dutch visual artist and art therapist following a MA in Intercultural Practices with CSM. They are interested in the intimacy of affective encounters informed by personal narratives. They speak multiple languages.
Instagram: stefanschaffeldart
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