The Shiny Language Project

200 letters, 31,810 sequins, and a bunch of internet comments.

I am very interested in language, both the physical structure of it and its ability to carry meaning.  I collect language from all over: song lyrics, 18th century literature, biblical passages, and overheard conversations. Recently I have been collecting language from the internet, a major means of communication today. 

The internet is a world of abundance, everyone has a voice and a platform online. I am so fascinated by the endless streams of language that flow from users from all over the globe, but as many opportunities there are for words of positivity, there is an equal (if not greater) abundance of negativity.

The Shiny Language Project will emphasize the language that we use to communicate to each other. Using the internet as my source material, I will collect and reproduce comments found online into physical language. By creating giant letters of hand embroidered sequins, I am making an object that is impossible to ignore. The amount of time it takes to create one letter is exponentially greater than the time it takes to read the full phrase, and certainly longer than the original author spent writing.  

This instance of time dilation (the time it took to make vs. the time it takes to comprehend) heightens the importance of language and how we use words to communicate with each other. It only takes two seconds to say something that could affect someone for the rest of their life. 

Follow the hashtag #shinylanguageproject on Instagram to see more updates!