In his essay “On Language as Such and on the Language of Man,” Walter Benjamin writes: “Die Antwort auf die Frage: Was teilt die Sprache mit? lautet also: Jede Sprache teilt sich selbst mit.” The English translation would roughly be “What does language communicate? All language communicates itself.” The original German sentence carries an ambiguity that cannot be translated adequately; it draws upon the word “mitteilen” (Engl. communicate), which also encloses the word “to separate,” so the sentence could also be understood as: “All language separates itself.” The ambiguity expresses the “gap” of language – it communicates and it separates, it is ephemeral and preserving.
#2 ArcHIVE is part of a series that revolves around the materiality of language and its “gap”; and we are the ones shaping it, for better or worse. Beneath the sculpture made of beeswax is a heating element linked to a motion sensor, which at a certain threshold of passers-by starts heating up and re-shaping it. Like language, it constantly fluctuates between a fluid and solidified state.
Material Poetry #2: ArcHIVE/Alexander Wöran (AT), Credit: Alexander Wöran
Material Poetry #2: ArcHIVE/Alexander Wöran (AT), Credit: Alexander Wöran
Project Credits:
- Concept, sculpture: Alexander Wöran (AT)
- Programming and electronics: Simon Kropf (AT)
- Special thanks to Leo Kullinger and Anna Gotzendorfer for their support.
Biographie:
Alexander Wöran, born 1987, lives and works in Linz/Vienna. He writes and deals with translation into various media as an approach for artistic research. He is also a member of the collective “Versatorium” with which he has performed in numerous readings, performances and other formats (including the Burgtheater, Kunstraum Niederösterreich, Hamburger Bahnhof and Futur3 Festival). Last publication: “Untergänge,” in: Die Rampe, 2/19
