Linguistics Series 2 - Limited Edition of 10 Print

The Linguistics Series was created using a letterpress and set type. The type is set so that it will be printed backwards and so the letters don’t sit on the same line. Each of the words in the print are words associated with not understanding or not being able to decode written language. The work was created during de Beer’s BAFA final exhibition in 2015. This print work like many on the exhibition was representative of her dyslexic experience. The main concept that de Beer explored was that through her dyslexic experience words often carried no coded meaning, but rather that they existed as abstract visual forms. It is through this piece that de Beer attempts to highlight a form of dyslexic experience whereby the words are backwards and “float” on different levels. The method of using a letterpress became an integral part in creating the series. Setting type is a long and slow process. Each letter is a small physical object that needs to be placed accurately to form a sentence and overall piece. The act of using these physical objects fell in line with de Beer’s concept of words as visual forms that bare no meaning. These individual pieces of type are just that; just physical letters. Unless they are put within the context of a word. It is only at that point that they bare meaning and code. The distortion of this code and meaning is achieved by the way in which de Beer placed the type, i.e. the letters were set backwards and on difference levels.