Di•a•graph•i•a
woodcut, letterpress | 13″ x 18″ (each print) | 13.75″ x 19.25″ x 1″ (portfolio) | edition of 10 portfolios, edition of 15 prints | 2013-2015
Di•a•graph•i•a
Diagraphia is a series of eight woodcut and letterpress prints that explores the structure of language through reference to the visual systems in historical scientific diagrams and maps. For each piece, I have explored how the visual devises of a particular diagram (concentric circles of planetary orbits, the stacked boxes of the periodic table, and so on) can be used to represent some aspect of language. The language of each text is transformed into patterns and arrangements according to its syntax, the statistical frequency of certain words, etymologies, etc. This turns the relationship of text to diagram on its head: the diagram that was once an analytical tool becomes the central imagery; the text that was once descriptive and scholarly becomes the source material for the linguistic image. The project reimagines the imagery of science as a way to convey the complex architecture behind language, using analytical tools to represent the structural wonder of language.