Quasi_without
2011
EFA project space, (Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts) New York

Installation
HD video, 1:15 Min. looped, b/w, silent, various lasercuts on deli paper, aircondition breeze

The poem SOS by the Brazilian artist and author Augusto de Campos is translated from English into sign language. Paulina Sarbinowska, a native sign language speaker signs SOS using different rhythms and a variety of synonyms from both Austrian and International Sign, shifting between communication and performance. Just as breath plays an important role in the act of speech, the gestures of sign language, especially when highly expressive, produce a gentle breeze thus creating their own form of breath. The installation connects the visual activity of the signed interpretation of the poem with the fragile movement of the delicate laser-cut works on paper, expressing both blurriness and potential sharpness of words and voids.

Special thanks to: Paulina Sarbinowska (signing/performing), Angelo Stagno (lasercuts) Daniele Le Rose (video: camera and editing), OEGS barrierefrei, Vienna (video studio)