Foreign Languages: Homages to the Misunderstood

Artist Statement

Amongst the German Early Romantic poet-philosophers, the writings of Johann Christian Friedrich Hölderlin (1770–1843) have compelled and inspired me most over the past 25 years. Throughout his work, he focused on merging the Subjekt with the Objekt into a oneness, trying to eliminate the Zwist (separation) and unite the paradoxical concepts of concreteness and abstraction. He was a master of metaphorical language, putting pressure on the lexical and syntactical capacities of words, to the point of breaking traditional rules, gesturing toward what he referred to as a sprachlose Sprache, a speechless or unspeakable language. In dialogue with Hölderlin, this exhibition features a selection of works from three series made over the past 25 years.

WordWeavings – WortGewebe (2000–2020)

Meditation practices involving repeated word mantras or songs are common in diverse cultures to draw repeated attention to a set of meanings that may empower and elevate a person’s spirit. Following these principles, my repetitions of scripted words in WordWeavings invite viewers to raise their gaze onto a philosophy that communicates sentiments born from lived experiences within the spectrum of “dark and light.” My very first scripted scroll focused on the word-triplet Mut Geduld Hoffnung (Courage Patience Hope), which continues to be a spiritual triad in my daily life. 

OakLeaf Alphabet – Eichenblatt Alphabet (2006–ongoing) 

My readings of Hölderlin led me to recognize a profoundly inspirational moment in February 2006, when I found a leaf-covered branch that a windstorm had torn from an old oak tree behind the house I lived in in Lanzara, Southern Italy. Feeling as though I had been given a gift, I carried the branch into my studio and laid its leaves onto my worktable. Looking at the leaves, I heard an inner voice say: “I am an alphabet.” I instantly knew what to do: select 29 oak leaves, assign each to a letter of the German alphabet, and create an “Alphabet for Hölderlin.”

PlantMurmurs (2019–2023) 

In keeping with Hölderlin’s concept of sprachlose Sprache (speechless or unspeakable language), my plant-fibre sculpture PlantMurmurs—composed of more than 3000 letter-sized sheets of handmade, hand-dyed papers—speaks the language of plants, who, like any other living organism, vibrate and murmur their essences through and beyond times immemorial.