During
2010 I was writer in residence at Upernavik Museum in Greenland, where I began
to learn West Greenlandic or Kalaallisut, the language spoken in the region.
This evocative language, which has an unparalleled vocabulary for environmental
conditions, had been added to UNESCO’s Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger the previous year.
The
artist’s book How To Say ‘I Love You’ In Greenlandic: An Arctic Alphabet draws parallels between typography and
topography, connecting the disappearance of languages and landscapes. But an
abecedarium is also a tool for education, and the book aims to bring new voices
to this Arctic language.
The
book is currently being exhibited in Beyond
Words: Artists and Translation at Amelie Gallery in Beijing, and an edition
is forthcoming from MIEL editions in 2014.
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