“The Tongue of the Hand” opens October 17th
The Tongue of the Hand, installation by NIRMAL RAJA
Community, Engraved Palm Leaves, intaglio and collograph print, 14X32″
Nirmal Raja explores the relationship between drawing and writing and asks if communication is possible beyond and outside our conventional understanding of the written word. Through video installation and experimental prints, she illustrates the potential of expression that transcends language. Her work addresses questions surrounding the coding of text, issues of cross-cultural translation and script as form.
The exhibition will include an interactive mixed-media video installation, where viewers are invited to trace a projection of the phrase “the tongue of the hand” into a bed of rice. The phrase is projected in various languages and reverses the act of writing into drawing. By engaging with the work, the viewer is asked to return to the moment when we first learn coding in language and reconnect with the repetition that is so much part of learning how to read and write.
Nirmal Raja is an inter-disciplinary artist and associate lecturer at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Born in India, Raja has lived and traveled in several countries. She earned a BA in English Literature in India, a diploma in Graphic Design from the Moore College of Art and Design in Philadelphia and a BFA in Painting at the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design. She also holds a MFA from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She has exhibited regionally, nationally and internationally and is the recipient of several awards and grants, most recently winning second place at the Wisconsin Artists’ Biennial.
WHEN: 10/17-11/29 (Artist Reception, 10/17 From 5-9PM)
NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.
