Visualising Words: Ground Floor Gallery

"But I do enjoy words-some words for their own sake! Words like river, and dawn, and daylight, and time. These words seem much richer than our experiences of the things they represent-" Alasdair Gray (Lanark, 1981)

This show explores the myriad ways in which the written word has inspired artists at Glasgow Print Studio. From illustrations of literature and poetry, to abstracted forms of language, and references to the graphic typography of signage, the use of word in print is deeply varied.

For some, print has been used as a medium to combine the written and visual arts. Alasdair Gray (1934-2014), who created graphic illustrations of his own iconic texts, also applied his unique creative perspective to works of literature, religious texts, and poetry. Kenny Hunter overlays texts with simplified images of landscapes. The poem 'Howl' by Allen Ginsberg is quoted in his print 'Modern Roots' ('Moloch' being the mythological figure associated with sacrifice) against a posterised image of a cemetery. In this instance, the viewer is left to decide what links the image and the text.

The word in print has acted as an open format to investigate Scottish history. Jacki Parry explores the history of Saint Thaney, a patron saint of Glasgow, through the various adaptations of her name since the 6^th century. What is illustrated here is the many histories of one figure that can be told through a name, as it travels between cultures, times, and traditions. Murray Robertson utilises digital collage to locate Scottish history, mapping the nation's influential literature, technology, and culture.  

Scott Myles has centralised text in his works in print. Myles considers how to externalise his creative practice and modes of thinking. His large-scale neon words are reminiscent of signs, borrowing their orange and black colour scheme; by applying his own sense of language in short sets of words, space is left for the interpretation of the viewer. An artist who has also brought text to the forefront is Ross Sinclair, who has been working on the 'Real Life' project since 1994. This has included the repeated bold heading and numbered lists, which question the empirical nature of human experience.

Sue Tompkins is an artist known for her use of the written word. She uses the repetition of letters to isolate words from the context of language. Tompkins plays with expressions, such as in her print 'O Good', placing the words in a cluster of Os; hidden in a noise of letters, she highlights the decisive quality of singular words. This is also something seen in the work of Martin Boyce. In his print, 'Do Words Have Voices', letters replace words and are almost completely abstracted from the context of language by playing with typography, orientation, and letter placement.