A photolightwork collaborative installation by Debra Howell & Jan Gilbert, August 29, 2006 (detail)


Installation view of Waterwords at the Contemporary Arts Center, 2006

This “Katrina Pictionary” plays on the linguistic phenomenon in which a word’s importance in a culture is reflected in the number of variations of it that exist in the cultural lexicon. The possible result of whiling away the hours of, say, an evacuation by playing parlour games, these “pages” of waterwords and images mimic both the traditional game of “Pictionary” and the somewhat sillier game of "Fortune Cookie" whereby you are required to insert the words “in bed” after every statement read by the players. Here, the game addresses the flood-related losses of so many with the hope of softening the sorrows with wordplay and image.

Update, September 2007. Waterwords is now available for purchase as an archival lightjet print. Click here for details