Communicating the experience of the coast

Sea of Words looks at single words from different languages that convey complex sensory experiences we have with the ocean, and attempts to translate them into visual representations. Along with representatives from the Sustainable Conservation Trust and fellow artists from the Play Office, Sea of Words was taken to Fort Gilkicker, a Victorian coastal fort, to present the work in context and at scale.

“With my artist residency with the Resonate (ii) programme at the Play Office, I have had the opportunity to experiment with and make some wonderful things. One of these things is particle systems – fully malleable visual effects that can represent anything. With my recent interest in how language helps shape our perceptions of the natural world, I decided I wanted to try creating engaging digital sculptures that attempt to transcend the language barrier for our sensory experiences when alongside the sea.”

This project was birthed from experimentation whilst in a state of limbo caused by the clash of natural history and heritage as subjectmatters. 
As part of Resonate (ii) I found myself interigating my “why?” and pushing it to its limits, exploring the idea of Qualia (meaning unique, subjective experience) and its nuance found in language. Human language is a monumental topic to disect so I focused on nouns and proper nouns – language used to name – and delved into the obscure. 
Considering heritage, I began with old-English kennings and saw how two seemingly unrelated words used in tandam can describe something new. For example; “Whale-road” was old-English for the sea. This delibrate use of language provides an insight into the Qualia of those that coined the phrase and those who adopted it. 
I further explored language in relation to the coast, moving towards modern day phrases but from different languages to English. I found words that do not have a direct translation, that can only be defined in the same language and can only be understood in English through metaphor or comparison. 
Mångata; Swedish for the strip of light that reflects off of the sea from the moon, similarly Loinnir in Gaelic is the equivelant but for the sun. Ab-re-Karam; Urdu to describe a cloud that brings good fortune, and Gökotta is Swedish for the early morning stillness of nature. 
Sea of Words is the result of this research and experimentation.

The work was invited to project onto Fort Gilkicker by Deniz Beck, a member of the Sustainable Conservation Trust and the lead architect for the refurbishment of the fort into residential accommodation. Bringing this artwork to the fort allowed each piece to play off the curves and crevices of the walls, reshaping how each piece moved and felt. In addition, the work reflects our complex, subjective experiences with the sea as people, which in combination with a manmade coastal structure elevated it.