Gallery - living-language-land

No Word

No Word

40" fabric wall hanging

No Word: a continent without words

  • Language: No indigenous language
  • Region: Brunt Ice Shelf, Antarctica

 

‘There are no voices from this frozen continent. There are no people to speak for here, to break the silence. But the stillness above does not tell of the turmoil below. Who speaks for this place? Who will hear, who will listen, as ice tears itself apart?’

"No Word" speaks for a land that never hosted an indigenous human population. However this continent is not without sound... the heaving ice, the wind, the many species of birds, and a few hardy mammals add their voices. The centre of this piece features the continent, nested in water. Water molecules are packed evenly around it in the form of ice, but are slowly released as water, then into the air. There are only two seasons in the Antarctic: Winter and Summer.

For the full description, along with pronunciation, map and video, click HERE.