Palimpsest: Words
ingredients: vintage book cover, vintage book pages, image transfers, found objects, rice paper, vintage mail scraps, bamboo, vintage dress pattern, stitching
palimpsest -
: writing material (as a parchment or tablet) used one or more times after earlier writing has been erased
: something having usually diverse layers or aspects apparent beneath the surface
I'm not sure how I came across the word 'palimpsest', but since I love to layer things in my art, I found it to be inspiring. So much like life - things covered up but still barely visible underneath. Events, emotions - anything that has affected us is still there beneath the surface, though it may be hard to see. I began to see the word as a metaphor for our lives, particularly where it concerns communication. So much is hidden beneath our words.
“There is something about words. In expert hands, manipulated deftly,
they take you prisoner. Wind themselves around your limbs like spider
silk, and when you are so enthralled you cannot move, they pierce your
skin, enter your blood, numb your thoughts. Inside you they work their
magic.”
―
Diane Setterfield,
The Thirteenth Tale
“Occasionally in life there are those moments of unutterable fulfillment
which cannot be completely explained by those symbols called words.
Their meanings can only be articulated by the inaudible language of the
heart.”
―
Martin Luther King Jr.
