Northern Voices / 2018

Northern Voices is an immersive installation piece that challenges preconceptions and stereotypes of Northern society. As a Northerner studying my dialect, I became interested in the phonetically written form. In the North Yorkshire dialect, we have a culture of abbreviation; missing a lot of letters from words or words from sentences. As a visual response, I have cast ultraviolet contours from an archived topographic map of my home, Robin Hood’s Bay, over a series of fluorescent screen printed typographic layouts. Only parts of words are visible at first, unless you persevere and let your eyes adjust. This is a nod to the situations where somebody doesn’t understand my dialect. Given time to adapt, further communication (verbal / visual) would allow for a deeper understanding. The UV shines a “new light” on stereotypes whilst reflecting our optimistic mentality. I’ve found that the stereotyping attached to being Northern is biased and not necessarily fair — throughout history I’ve found that Northern citizens have put humans before hierarchy; shown in the many radical movements originating and nurtured in the North (campaigns for women’s suffrage, Chartism, the Industrial Revolution, the founding of the independent Labour Party and the campaign to abolish slavery). I’ve found that through tracing the origins of our dialect back to Norse origins, our dialect has accumulated through years of a non conformist culture within a climate of resistance.

The shock of moving from a small seaside village in the North York Moors to a southern city has resonated deeply within me; I feel there is less of a community and a disengagement with the untouched landscape in the South. I wanted to communicate the intensely profound sense of belonging I feel when at home on the cliffs, and the total sensory immersion that makes a location for a deeper humanity. Residing among the elements allows for a clearer mindset and calmer psyche.