Language-Art Project 2023
Click here for the Language-Art Project homepage.
This section explores the intersection of language and storytelling. By examining this relationship, the art sets out to explain the nature of nature and the learning process.
In this relationship we see -through a variety of mediums- the unique power that language has on the way a story is told, and moreover the way a story is illustrated. It is a colourful, joyful set of expressions, exploring melancholy and incredible happiness both.
Hal Warren, co-curator
May 2023
Artists:
Yimeng Li
Phuong Anh (PA)
Isabelle Henstridge
Shangda Li
Kexin Lan
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
The encounter with English
Yimeng Li
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=RffXRMOg1-g&cbrd=1
Pastel, acrylic marker
This animation expresses my feelings about learning English as my second language, which can sometimes be confusing in terms of pronunciation and grammar. This animation shows my process of learning English and expresses this confusion and struggle. YouTuber Izzy Sealey‘s video was used as a reference.
Yimeng Li studies Illustration at Camberwell, where she enjoys telling stories and expressing feelings through drawing. She is Chinese and is struggling to learn English.
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
Ra khỏi đây ngay/Get the hell out of here
Phuong Anh (PA)
Online exhibition: zine
Offline exhibition: fabric, fountain pen, yarn
I often received this “rude” Vietnamese spoken message at home, at work, on the street, in class since I was young, and recently at an art space. Connecting with my wandering reality of a power dynamic, I respond to it in a gentle way and trace it back to my memory, protecting myself with the familiar care of mother earth. This is my statement to the one who decides which boundary to step in and interrupt, or who considered me as a less powerful identity “object” in their way of using language. What is the boundary to set out that boundary?
Phuong Anh (PA): Have been experiencing over 6 years in the communications and creative field, currently I’m moving to write, research, and make things independently while studying MA Intercultural Practices at Central Saint Martins, UAL. Placing words at the heart, combined with visual and movement expressions, I question the scope of understanding and the application of inter-entities. Nature is the only truth that is used in the work as free, wild, liberal, and open-to-question material.
Website: thingthingthingthing.lol
Instagram: nguyenphuonganh.pa
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
Watersmeet
Isabelle Henstridge
Video: https://youtu.be/1iLV2Gqjmdc
This work displays a hand drawn, stop motion gif, beside a piece of creative writing. The text is a personal piece taken from a larger collection of writings which reflect on interpersonal relationships. Using language to describe a moment in the English countryside, the text considers the emotional intimacy that nature can provide. The drawings depict a moment from the text, at a tea garden at Watersmeet in rural Exmoor, England. The format also explores relationships between imagery, literature and imagination, reflecting on modern methodologies of creativity and its distribution.
Isabelle Henstridge is studying BA Fine Art at Chelsea College of Art. She is looking at the human experience through many mediums and is currently reflecting on literature and imagery.
Website: https://isabellehenstridge.wixsite.com/artpages/2023
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
奔 (R)
Shangda Li
4K video: https://youtu.be/au4b_4OpfAo
Six A3 images
“奔”is translated as “rush” or “run” in English. In body language, it is an instinctive response when people are threatened. Personally, many of my inspirations or motivations come from the threats and anxiety in life. Therefore, poetry, art and music are channels of catharsis for me. In this project, I tried to use this “energy, energy like rush out of danger” to translate the poems I wrote in the “energy” state (“rush” state) and with me in the rush state (high energy state) The following graphic works, images, limbs, music, and calligraphy are combined to convey a cure for life through the above-mentioned methods.
“Everything exist, being no form.”; “Everything is… like dream bubble. It is like dew; it is also like electricity. It should be seen like this.”
Shangda Li is a first-year graphic design student at Camberwell College of arts, UAL. He likes… being art.
Foundation graduation Final Major Project: https://graduateshowcase.arts.ac.uk/project/324208/cover
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
Change and Changeless
Kexin Lan
Glass & Virtual Space
My interest in astrology inspired this project. With constant changes and uncertain future paths, I have experienced anxiety about what’s to come and have been haunted by past experiences. Astrology has helped me gain wisdom and overcome these anxieties as it’s a language that bridges past and future. I’ve deconstructed symbols on the astrolabe to form a 3D model installation that visualises stars’ movements and changes. Glowing spheres represent the many different stars in the universe, helping people understand its workings. This installation exists in both natural and virtual worlds, bringing healing and peace to those who need it most.
Kexin Lan is studying BA Interior Design (Year 3) at Chelsea. She is very interested in metaphysics, astrology, games and virtual space. She is Chinese and speaks Chinese and some Japanese.
_______________________________________________________________________________