YVONNE SINGER
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writing a gesture, 2016 

Materials: Video projection


The only sound we hear is the scratching of the fountain pen as I repeatedly write a series of phrases: “I will know you by your gesture; By your gesture will I know you; Will I know you by your gesture.” The idea of gesture refers literally to the physical gesture of handwriting. Gesture is also the movement of the camera recording the time it takes to write and then erase. Metaphorically a gesture is a sign, a language that is a form of non-verbal communication. It carries meaning. A gesture is a trace. A gesture is a reciprocal action … it is sent and received. A gesture is small or large, benevolent or sinister.

In the video, the action of repeatedly writing and rewriting the same 3 phrases suggests an anxiety about the meaning of a gesture implicated in a relationship. But the video does not reveal anything about the type of relationship. The gesture is enigmatic and the video questions what the gesture tells us.


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