About the exhibition

This exhibition strings together graphic images developed by each artist to reconsider written language in relation to early human mark making. From a talk given by paleoanthropologist Genevieve von Petzinger in 2015 entitled Why are these 32 symbols found in ancient caves all over Europe?:

“As you pass through the portal between light and dark, you enter a subterranean world — a place of perpetual gloom, of earthy smells, of hushed silence. Long ago in Europe, ancient people also entered these underground worlds. As witness to their passage they left behind mysterious engravings and paintings…triangles and zigzags from Ojo Guareña in Spain. You now walk the same path as these early artists. And in this surreal, otherworldly place, it’s almost possible to imagine that you hear the muffled footfall of skin boots on soft earth, or that you see the flickering of a torch around the next bend. When I’m in a cave I often find myself wondering what drove these people to go so deep to brave dangerous and narrow passageways to leave their mark?”

View the exhibition here.