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Photo by Bindi Vora
Mountain of Salt by Bindi Vora is an ongoing work comprised of found images, appropriated text and digital shape collages initially conceptualised as a human response to covid-19. Since the Covid19 pandemic unfolded Vora has become acutely aware of the linguistic landscape she inhabits, where everything has felt amplified as we cling to the news for updates, statistics and curves and in our own ways analysing the myriad forms of information. It highlights the way in which language, words and speech have a physical presence, a bearing upon us and carry weight. The connotations can be overwhelming at times.
This text-based series of collages focus on the provocative language used since March 2020 and has evolved from the collection of words and sentences derived from politicians, journalists and individuals, each of which were sharing commentary, updates or thoughts. Over the last few months there has been a very distinct rhetoric of unity and togetherness constantly being fed to their audiences. The shapes that appear in the images, such as the squares and circles are a semantic response to this, they aren’t only there to direct your gaze but reflect on the etymology of what the shapes represent.
Since Vora began making the pieces in Mountain of Salt the work has continued to evolve, encompassing issues and moments that have affected us well beyond the virus – conversations around oppression, racism and witnessing trauma but also to the more light-hearted, comical moments in these times where we take solace. This curious collection of phrases speaks to the dissemination of language and its affect upon us. Mountain of Salt now includes more than 200 works.
