26 Words brings together two creative groups to explore the verbal and visual representation of language. Writers from 26 and lettering artists from Letter Exchange have collaborated to bring to life an eclectic selection of words. The works are as varied as the imaginations of the writers and artists involved: in turns thought-provoking, profound, exciting and exuberant.
The project
Writers were paired with visual artists to form 26 collaborative partnerships. Each pair randomly chose a word to represent each letter of the alphabet, by inserting a knife in a dictionary.
The result was an extraordinary collection of words from acidulate to zaffre. It’s been an exhilarating and enlightening journey in words, exploring their power to inspire our imaginations. Along the way many serendipitous discoveries have been made, leading to beautiful words and exciting visual interpretations in two and three dimensions.
You can take a glimpse behind the scenes on our creation stories page. We’ll post some of the artworks here as we get closer to the exhibition, then the full set once we’re up and running.