Scribbling Series and Collage Poetry
“This ‘I’ which approaches the text is already itself a plurality of other texts, of codes which are infinite or, more precisely, lost (whose origins are lost)”
– Roland Barthes, 1974
When text is used as the central motif in contemporary art, it occurs mostly in “open” works. Each experience of the work can in itself be gratifying, but it will always be incomplete for the viewer, because the work cannot supply all of the interpretations that are inherent in the work simultaneously. I experience Gunvor Nervold Antonsen’s oevre to date in this way. The assosiative nature of her works makes it difficult to be finished with them right away. The texts and the works in the series Scribbling Series and Collage Poetry will therefore not be given any tangible interpretation here. These reflections are commentaries that shed light on the artworks as a whole and create hypertextual threads that can contribute to a network of meaning and a backdrop for understanding. Each physical and conceptual layer in the works use text or graphic images, and are intentional participants in a playful game where the viewer can discover and experience the hidden complexity of language. Continue reading…