Anchorage, AK
Can’t Touch This
$210
sunotifosu@yahoo.com
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In MC Hammer’s classic “You Can’t Touch This” the artist sings of his peer groups inability to touch him, not in the physical sense, but more as a statement of his superior ability in the art of rhyme. In James Riordan’s translation the notion of touch is explored in a more literal fashion, transcribing the lyrics into Braille, a language traditionally read through touch.
Meditated upon through the repeated production of crayon rubbings of the Braille text, the body of the book, in the end, becomes almost completely illegible to the touch, wearing away even more through every reading. Though there is a written content, it is its illegibility, its physicality and the visual abstraction of the language within its pages, a language not intended to be read through sight, that proves more significant in understanding the books overall meaning.
Artist Biography
James Riordan is an Alaskan artist currently residing in London. While involved in a variety of art practices, James’ book works are concerned primarily with ideas regarding translation and legibility, most recently utilizing the Braille alphabet as a tool in these investigations.
All images and text copyright the artist. All rights reserved.
