A new exhibition that showcases the languages that define the personal and collective identities of students from two courses on Edinburgh Napier’s MA Design programme has opened this week as part of the University’s 2024 Degree Show.
MOTHERTONGUE will run within The Glassroom at Merchiston campus from 24-30 May.
Developed by students from Edinburgh Napier’s MA Design for Interactive Experience and MA Heritage and Exhibition Design programmes for their Art Direction module – which is lead by Dr Niina Turtola and Professor Ryo Yamada - the exhibition showcases the work of 15 exhibitors and features nine languages from 10 different countries: from Spanish to Scots and Gaelic to Gujarati.
The exhibition touches on several themes, delving into heritage, collective memory and the expression of emotions while serving as a platform to explore, respond and celebrate the rich diversity of cultures through creative expression.
Exhibits include:
RUTA MADRE by Natalia Saláis – an interactive exploration of handwritten signage featured in the public transport system of her hometown of Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico.
Faravahar by Amir Hajjam - a new interpretation of a symbolic and sacred representation of Ahura Mazda with deep spiritual significance in Zoroastrianism and traditional Iranian culture, using a mixed technique of calligraphy and graphic lines.
Women’s Words (LOST) by Kelsie Baird - an exploration of language over the years in her mother tongue, English. Based on the etymological work of Jenni Nuttal in "Mother Tongue, A Surprising History of Women’s Words," this motion graphics piece aims to draw attention to the dwindling words used to describe women, their feelings, and their bodies.
Lost In Translation by Yohana Ma Frias - an installation that explores the blurring of Filipino identity through globalisation. The piece combines videos and prints, highlighting how mandatory English education and foreign media influence have gradually replaced Tagalog words.
Dysle3-Xica by Caitlin Snowden – an installation that offers a unique insight into her personal experiences with dyslexia, featuring video and prints on transparent paper, capturing the nuances of her condition through the movement of her eyes in different settings, the time it takes her to read, and the common spelling mistakes and letter confusions she navigates.
Revertigo by Catriona Storey - an interactive examination of linguistic reversion and the comfort of familiar speech patterns through an innovative fabric and sound installation.
Signs of Identity | exploring the typographical signages of Ahmedabad city by Pooja Shah - a celebration of the vibrant cultural tapestry and unique identity of Ahmedabad through its diverse signage landscape.
The Loong 龙行天下 by Wu Jiahui - a modern reinvention of traditional Chinese paper cutting. This artwork blends millennia-old Chinese characters with the majestic imagery of the Chinese dragon, the Loong, using a striking colour palette of gold, black, and red.
Dr Niina Turtola, Module leader for Art Direction and Lecturer in Design at Edinburgh Napier, said: “In this module, the initial idea is to look at the concept of mother tongue through objects that students created. Each student has a unique mother tongue. Each mother tongue is an interpretation and response to a theme. Mother Tongue can be an experience of redacting words from a dictionary for example. The meaning of the module is to learn to create an interpretation of the world of the mother tongue. Like this we learn to reimagine societies through objects. Creativity is applied imagination. Students in this module worked in groups to create the visual communication design for exhibition among other things.”
MOTHERTONGUE, part of Edinburgh Napier’s Degree Show, is open from 23-30 May at the University’s Merchiston campus.
More information on the show itself can be found here.