Open Table Conversation: Cypher, Paratext, Book

Open table conversation with Morten Søndergaard, Åse Eg and Katie Holten.

How can we rethink the semantic drifts between things and signs, the slippery metaphorical relations, and the never-ending translations in a more-than-human 'semiosphere' in which the world perpetually articulates itself?
How to register these alien frequencies? And could a book become a portal into a transhuman field of paratextual inscriptions? 

In relation to the Parapoetics Project, and on the occasion of the exhibition 'Suture' (Søndergaard / Eg) and the book 'About Trees' (Holten), Büro BDP will host an open conversation about asemic writing practices, paratexts and the non-human collaborators implicit in the making of books.

Morten Søndergaard (born 1964) is one of the foremost of the generation of Danish poets to emerge onto the scene in the early Nineties. Language is Morten Søndergaard’s medium and his métier, one which he practises not only as a poet, but also as a translator, sound artist and literary editor. And while his craft is solidly rooted in the classic poetic tradition he is constantly intent on exploring the possibilities of language and new ways in which these can be presented. Over the years, alongside his written publications, this has resulted in musical and dramatic works and in recordings, exhibitions and installations centering on language and sound. 

Åse Eg (born1958) Danish artist and graphic designer based in Copenhagen. For 30 years co-editor on Pist Protta (Danish art-periodical). Practice spans all kinds of printed matter, very fond of paper, colours and books. Most recent artwork: Kompendium 18 (Blad 1 / Leaf 1) and Kompendium 19 (Blad 2 / Leaf 2) collections of leaves from my garden reproduced as photographs (Kompendium 18) and drawings (Kompendium 19) with short texts on the metaphors of leafs connected to books. Graduated from the Danish Design School in 1989. Owner of Åse Eg Aps.

Katie Holten, is an Irish artist who is passionate about exploring the inextricable relationship between humans and the natural world. She has had solo museum exhibitions at the New Orleans Museum of Art, Bronx Museum, Nevada Museum of Art and Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis. In 2003 she represented Ireland at the 50th Venice Biennale. Deeply committed to social causes, especially as they pertain to environmental issues, Katie makes drawings, sculptures, installations, books, public artworks and ephemeral actions that function as poetic alterations to the everyday. She often works on site to explore the history, ecology, and other invisible aspects of an environment. At the root of her practice is a fascination with the contingency of life's systems – organic and man-made – and the inextricable relationship between man and the natural world in the age of the Anthropocene. https://broken-dimanche.squarespace.com/art-books/#/new-page-4/