Language reformed, reinvented, rewired: palawa kani and Semaphore Score

Palawa woman Theresa Sainty and artist Margaret Woodward cross-pollinate language, code and story

To have a language is to have the means to tell your own story.

One of the many layers the exhibition Semaphore Score reveals is both an excavation and a reinvention of language.

When this island was a penal colony, the code was militaristic and masculine.

Artist Margaret Woodward has reimagined and composed a new form of code language.

Her new code introduces a contemporary vocabulary of stewardship and care.

Palawa woman Theresa Sainty’s role in the return of language to the Aboriginal people of Tasmania is vital.

As palawa kani is returned to its mothers’ tongues and the Palawa community, in a way, story returns too.

Margaret and Theresa will discuss dictionaries, language buildingand processes of language revival.

This discussion will be facilitated by Rachel Edwards.

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