May I Have Your Attention

A typographic installation and exhibition.

Everyday millions of words and phrases are spoken in private places and in public spaces. It’s hard to imagine that, at any one moment, there isn’t something being said, to someone or something somewhere in the world.

The verbal tone of these words and phrases shifts, alters and permutates depending on where we are, who we’re with, how we feel and when we speak. These phrases and words originate from us, travel outward across the immediate environ­ment and continue, often penetrating ears of others. They disseminate without censorship or protection. Our daily occupation of these public and private environments provides a platform for us to not only receive the words and phrases intended for us, but to hear and absorb verbal bites intended for others. This fragmented sampling of the verbal language is generally a passive activity, regarded as momentary and meaningless audio cross-fire from another's world. Depending on how we edit and interpret these samples, a fascinating landscape of language emerges. The vicissitudes of these words and phrases is where we can observe our true dialogues, the common and the regular colliding with the obscure and the coded.

If we capture these words and phrases, suspend them for a period within a physical space, we can observe and explore this language from new perspectives. We can imagine their origins, play with their meanings and regard a poignancy not usually associated or expected with certain words and phrases. By utilising our individual prior experiences and activating our imaginations, new meanings, scenarios, contexts and narratives are prompted. They never remain permanently fixed. As with the environment they exist within, they are transitional and the ‘verbal bites’ will move on, continually being replaced by fresh versions, allowing a new ground of meanings and scenarios to evolve then surface.

This installation provides the viewer with a visual representation of the spoken language we use daily and utilise from private to public spaces. Words in private spaces tend to be emotional, subjective, expressive and candid. In contrast, when we are in a public space, most people filter, subdue and moderate language, we become more objective. In addition, public address systems are informative and direct, but remain spoken language and are an important element when offering the broadest verbal spectrum. Few move from one space to the other without some degree of shift in tone, language and transmission. When the spoken language from both environments are assembled and displayed in
one environment, a curious blend of ambiguity is observed. Viewers can experience obscure, less obvious interpretations and question the origin points of the phrase. The words and phrases, without their original context become questioning, the meaning now has to come from the viewer not the speaker. There is no voice or face, no room or place.

The words and language bites are displayed directly on the walls by means of a signage system adapted from a true utilit­arian American display system. The choice to utilise this system is that it perfectly reflects the ‘transitional’ nature of the content of the installation. This versatile system allows the content to be updated, re-configured and refreshed throughout the duration of the exhibition, without changing the physical structure of the space around. The viewer, when returning to the gallery will experience a different narrative from the last visit.

This gallery is a transitional space where people move through either to access specific rooms, to visit other common areas or to exit the building altogether. The gallery becomes an interface for the ‘verbal bites’, it’s an environment where we can observe and part-take in the full gamut of spoken language.