a
carrier
bag for
the
whole
earth
carrier-bag
Containers and Collections
LeGuin's 'carrier bag' theory elevates containers to fundamental human tools, a concept mirrored in the exhibition. This metaphor extends to journals and publications, which act as vessels of knowledge. Even experimental texts - with their repeated words and fragmented structure - embody this principle, creating meaning through an assemblage of language, where each word becomes a carried item gaining significance through its proximity to others.
Fragmentation and Rearrangement
The visual dismantling of words into reconfigured fragments demonstrates how meaning can be deconstructed and transformed through typographic intervention. This fragmentation parallels a repetition of words arranged in non-traditional patterns which create new interpretive possibilities. Objects, words, and ideas derive significance not just from their inherent properties, but through their deliberate associations, juxtapositions, and arrangements—echoing LeGuin's carrier bag as a space where collected items generate meaning through their relationships.
Significance of Ordinary Things
LeGuin elevates the mundane carrier bag to profound cultural significance. Specific geographical locations can acquire historical importance beyond their physical boundaries. Artistic transformation of simple technology creates a consciousness-altering tool. Grey graphic design seeks meaning in overlooked or ordinary objects.
Commentaries
A series of interwoven social critiques spanning different eras and concerns. An environmental commentary on the destructive impact of disposable plastic containers. An attempt to confront the power of multinational corporations through both text and typographic fragmentation. Class division through prominent presentation, a centred, multi-line layout where line breaks create a specific rhythm to the text.
Alternative Perspectives on Established
Narratives
Deliberate subversion of traditional accounts of human evolution, proposing containers rather than weapons as foundational to our development. Extending beyond conventional sport analysis to explore deeper cultural implications and social structures. Rejecting standard categorisation systems, embracing an elusive, uncertain and interesting quality that resists easy classification. Reframing existing narratives to reveal overlooked significance and challenge dominant historical, cultural, and disciplinary perspectives: counter-narratives to more established ways of understanding.