Excitable Alphabet _{by Isabella Smith}

Long-time collaborators poet Jenny Bornholdt and artist and sculptor Anton Hart share their latest exhibition Excitable Alphabet at Bowen Galleries until the 19^th of September. Both based in Te Whanganui-a-Tara, the collaboration grew out of Jenny sending Anton little pieces of writing – “sometimes just a line or a few words” – and Anton responding to them through sculpture.

Jenny’s words transform as Anton translates them into three-dimensional totem-like sculptures and slick, grooved discs. “I tend to look at the words almost as shapes or objects. A word can have a particular weight, rhythm, or feeling”, Anton says. “I'm not illustrating the poems. I'm trying to find another way for them to exist, and hopefully to let people engage with the written word in a completely different way.”

Working mostly with 3D printed sand, but also with bronze, vinyl, and wood, the letters are stacked directly atop each other without gaps, creating a “physical block of language”. While the sculptures are made using a very digital process, they don't feel computerised, instead carrying a softness and imperfection.

“From one angle, the words disappear and you're looking at what can seem like quite simple geometric forms. As you move around the sculpture, the words are gradually revealed.”

The moment of seeing the letters form words cannot be undone. It marks a moment of recognition that reveals the semiotic way we interact with and derive meaning from the world around us. But the sculptural forms are anything but static; Excitable Alphabet gives the letters lives of their own, reflecting Jenny’s playful use of words and the possibilities of transforming language into form.