2021
Disused acrylic letter and mixed media in a glass dome
27 x 14 x 14cm
This piece started from the strange-shaped lettering I received from the signwriter; I have no idea what it originally meant? Part of an exclamation? I don’t know, but I did know I wanted to feature it on its own. I started thinking about the wonderful Australianism YEAH NAH or NAH YEAH. It’s based around the concept that depending on which side you see this is the answer to your question – a soothsayer. The patterns represent hypnotic carnival circus swirls and the colours for YEAH are a cool palette, while the NAH is a fiery palette. The crosses and circles float around the words and add to the notion of positive and negative in gold or silver sparkle.
Up the top of the piece is a plaque that is based on the UNIVAC 418-III computer, made in 1969. The UNIVAC 418 was a transistorized, 18-bit word core memory machine made by Sperry Univac. It was one of the original super computers used in business and the military. My Dad has the plaque from this computer sitting on his desk; I love the typography and super advanced graphic design.
For “The Soothsayer 3810-II” plaque and words combine to form the advanced fortune teller computer that gives you two answers – YEAH or NAH.
The text look and style are inspired by graffiti font layout but uses real type instead.