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What bone shall speak for me? : Seeking the language of bones : a photographic investigation

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posted on 2023-05-26, 03:59 authored by Pitchford, J
Through the media of analogue and digital imagery and the discipline of theoretical research, this project investigates skeletal remains to elucidate their language by examining them in evolutionary, historical, cultural and ritual contexts. In the context of this exegesis skeletal remains are indicated as metaphors for narrative and language. The exegesis discusses the manner in which bones are subject to a form of metamorphosis that is influenced and directed by the languages used to describe them, which in turn are directed by the position, experiential history and cultural background of the viewer/interpreter. These concepts are investigated in the context of artistic practice, with reference to the work of Henry Moore, Harry Nankin, J. John Priola, Stephanie Valentin and others. The outcome of the research project is realised in a visual arts exhibition. The wall mounted images, the specimen book of images and the shelf installation of bones with different objects all allude to the essential ambiguity and fluidity of the nature of bones and the languages associated with and imposed on them. In seeking the language of bones, the exhibition reveals that the reply to the question What bone shall speak for me? is as individually subjective and mutable as the images and objects suggest.

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Copyright 2007 the author

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