Word of Mouth (Portfolio)

Originality:

I was invited to exhibit Word of Mouth (written) Boca a Boca (escrito) in the category of ‘Other Print Disciplines’ at the IMPACT10 Encuentro, Encounter & International Multidisciplinary Print Exhibition and Conference in Santander, Spain in September 2018. The work was selected because it offered a new way of
reading (encountering) an original print with individual participants being invited to create and own the work.

I was allocated a space for the exhibition and left a set of instructions in English and Spanish for participants
to follow. The subsequent installation of written words represented the collective voice of participants and
provided a record of that particular moment in time and place.

Significance:

Word of Mouth (written) Boca a Boca (escrito) was exhibited at the Biblioteca Central Cantabria in Santander between 1st - 10th September, 2018 and over 240 people contributed to the making of the work during this
period. The installation became a place where unspoken written words were given validity and explored how
these could be shared whilst remaining private and undisclosed. Images of the continuously expanding work
were regularly posted on social media by participants as it progressed, and an image of the final installation
was selected for inclusion in the final digital exhibition catalogue.

Rigour:

Word of Mouth (written) Boca a Boca (escrito) was selected by a panel of artists, academics, researchers and members from the international print community and my attendance was financially supported by the School of Arts at the University of Worcester. Following the installation, I was invited to collaborate with AB
Press, Bristol on a follow-up artist printed book publication using the 240 responses inside their original
printed bags. The written responses that emerged fitted into 5 different categories and became chapters in bthe book. These were then bound together so the original words were contained inside, still remaining
private, unseen and undisclosed.