P: Queue
In order to comply with social distancing measures, the queue has become a part of everyday life – this seemed an obvious starting point in what was a more limited week in terms of word options.
Inspired by T’s approach to research, I used an online dictionary to begin the process – looking at not only the definition, but similar words; suggestions such as line, row, column, file and sequence were noted.
I started by considering the physical act of queueing at the shop/pharmacy/DIY outlet etc., however an online shopping experience offered an alternative solution. Whilst attempting to buy plants on a popular website I was informed that I was in a queue, the number of users ahead of me was 1,444 – with an expected arrival time on the website of 13 minutes. These figures suggested a sense of repetition and seemed to connect effectively with the definition, and I considered how the typewriter presented a way to explore repetition. Taking inspiration from Sackner’s – The Art of Typewriting and Typewriter Art by Barrie Tullett, I began by initially working with the letter Q, but advanced to using the / symbol to represent a line, which was then repeated to form rows and eventually sequences of 1444 marks – therefore reflecting both the found words and visually highlighting the queuing process.
T: Quietly Queuing In response to the selected letter this week two distinct words resonated: quiet and queue. I began by reading around the word quiet, making links to both the reported reduced car journeys and decreases in air pollution in the UK at this time. Seemingly air pollution levels have dropped by 40% in UK cities, and car journeys have reduced by 60% since lockdown began. In consideration of how to visualise these decreases, I explored theatre and musical notation – how do actors and musicians know to speak or make sounds quietly? I read about text being printed smaller, or becoming smaller, the word ‘diminuendo’ meaning becoming quieter, and the word piano meaning quieter than your speaking voice which is represented by the letter P underneath sections of music. I considered making quiet drawings using delicate mark making, alongside representing the absence of cars by rubbing away, or cutting out sections to create holes. Alongside this, I noted that the reduction in car travel has impacted upon air pollution which in turn has led to brighter skies and considered how to visualise this within blocks of colour. I returned to dictionary definitions and read that the word is defined as ‘a sequence of people’ and began to explore the idea of sequences, reflecting upon patterns of queues, and my positioning in these queues each week.
The mid-week Facetime meeting with P enabled the exchange of these first ideas with P, discussion around working methodology, choice of materials and emerging individual approaches to making visual outcomes in one week. In response to this dialogue, I both re-assessed my choice of media and materials and also trialled these more thoroughly this week. I explored ‘quite printing’ and pattern making using the typewriter, letter stamps, stencils, and working on top of found surfaces – which included the back of the cover of a music book and post it notes. Drawn to the given colour and format of self-adhesive labels, I have once again made use of these within the final outcome. The choice of colour is a nod to found colour theory and my coat of choice when quietly queuing.
meeting in the middle 
It’s interesting that not only have we worked with the same word – but our choice of media and exploration of ‘sequence’ has led to what is, so far, the most similar joint response.
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