PROJECT: Silence

My idea to try to create a new visual language based on the shapes created by the mouth when speaking had developed and now has become about mapping these shapes in response to our convention alphabet.. Through my research, I came across a book called 'Lip reading made easy where I found the discovery that there are 18 visible shapes created by the mouth in the English language. These shapes relate to how the letters look not read, so that if you are deaf or hard of hearing you can understand a conversation.

This idea has stemmed from the concept of having a conversation face to face, when you take away the sound what is created? The face, neck and body language of a person is very important to how we speak but for my idea theres are too many elements, so I have decided to concentrate on the mouth shape alone.

When you take away the sound, you are left with shapes. These shapes have a meaning but in my research have never been visually mapped, but they are represented by a symbol.

For example:

• The sound is a long e, as in the word 'we', the facial appearance is a narrow mouth that is simplified into the symbol 'na'.

The 18 visible shapes take the facial appearances different positions the mouth forms when pronouncing words/letters. What I have found is that these visible shapes can be graphically visualised and have the potential to have a function within speech therapy.

Mack told me to look at Samuel Beckett 'Not I'.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otjKETciw2c

The mouth tells a story of a 70 year woman whom is talking about an experience that happened many years ago. The mouth speaks very fast but it is memorising to watch.
The expression of erratic movements of the mouth confuse the naked eye, but it fascinates me.

My idea is very different from this video but my idea is not logical or factual but it is an experiment into understanding how non conventional language could be used within our society.

The shapes which I plan to experiment with are part of a visual narrative that is neither speech nor written words but something between the middle.

Ive also been researching into information grahics, the book Visual Research has been a great beginning to understanding design that maps the idea graphically.

Alison Barnes is a fantastic conceptual designer.

These are great as projects that could benefit my own idea.