Wordplay 2008-10

Wordplay mas a major collaborative project by artist Peter Walker and David Harper, with subsequent collaboration from Andy McKeown.

The project which was first aired in late 2008, involved the collection and recording of the faces and voices of 1500 people from the City. Recorded at specific project events the participants were engaged in conversation about the area and their life there. However the audio recorded was irrelevant and was eventually replaced by the recording of all 4000 words from Samuel Johnson's first English Dictionary.
Johnson, a son of the ciy once quoted that the people of Lichfield spoke the best English. The piece duly paid homage to this claim, capturing the accent the phrasing of the local voice alongside the faces and varience of physiognomy of the people of the area.

The first exhibit of the work was a one day event at the guildhall, where over 450 people attended. Also featured on the day was an installation by Dean Kelland.

PETER WALKER WEBSITE : click here