Concrete Playground

As a writer, I’ve always thought of letters and words as something to be used the way a painter might use paint or a sculptor might use clay or a craftsman might use Clag. Words are too often seen as purely functional, taken for granted as devices for basic communication: 'stop', 'go', 'do not leave food out or you may be devoured by bears' and so on. But a writer sees words as a medium for artistic expression — every verb, adjective and noun considered for its beauty, poetry and relevance in the creation of meaning. An extension of this idea would be to completely delineate typography and utilise it, quite literally, as art. Within the realm of visual art, unrestricted by coherency or legibility, typeface knows no bounds and the artist is free to deconstruct its literal meaning and use it symbolically or for pure aesthetic.

And that’s exactly what the international artists, designers and typographers taking part in the touring exhibition Go Font Ur Self* have done. Hailing from every corner of the globe, over 50 artists have taken part in the four chapters of this homage to the humble letter, and this time around The Roller space in Sydney will be hosting the fifth. Sponsored by Kirin, this latest installment of Go Font Ur Self showcases a series of works by over 13 individual artists and collectives who each present their own unique interpretation of everyday type. From kooky graphics to sophisticated design, these artists free words from the tired duty of making sense and allow them to frolic over canvases with careless abandon. The alphabet hasn’t had so much fun since Heinz made it a soup.

Image by Jeremyville.