Jane Wheat is based in Nottingham. For Exhibition 28 at The Notice Board she has created an exhibition under the title: Fixed Point Semaphore.
Of the work Jane says: My interest in rituals and the characteristics of cultural events has underpinned much of the work I have been making for several years.
I have a large extended family in South East Asia and visits there have given me a great insight into their traditions, which date back centuries. I have made several films based on their colourful celebrations conjuring a sequence of images & sounds that are redolent with meaning.
During the on-going pandemic the separation from loved ones has proved difficult and distressing. Families living maybe only a few miles from each other became isolated. There are many families separated by continents that, even in pre pandemic times feel this separation often for years. These thoughts have led to this exhibition and a dialogue between me, my grandson and his maternal grandparents who live over 6,000 miles away. The idea of personal message from a grandchild drifting through space and time is something that I hope could amuse and entertain my relatives in their faraway country, which they can view on social media.
Flags have evolved as a tool of national identity and as a means of communication as well as decoration and demarcation. Semaphore is an international flag based language. So I asked myself ‘How can I create a flag relevant to my situation?” In response I’ve made one that contains a personal message that can only be read by people who speak this foreign tongue.
The Notice Board enjoys the layers of code in Janes work – with private languages only available to some of us. Technology be it flags, telephones or the internet have always offered a potential freedom to speak privately and connect across great distance. The Notice Board enters itself into this list happy to support a family connect and laugh.
Jane’s website: janewheat.com
As part of her exhibition Jane has created a quiz and invites you to join in. Find the Quiz here and Answers here