SPELL
2020
Brass and recycled plastic bottles
SPIRIT OF WORDS
SPELL explores the invisible power of words by giving them physical form.
Inspired by the visual language of manga, the collection transforms speech and thought into sculptural forms that surround the body. Each piece represents a different way in which words can operate — spoken, imagined, shared, repeated or directed towards ourselves and others.
Brass frames define the shapes of speech balloons, while transparent recycled plastic suggests the normally invisible nature of words. By making language visible and wearable, SPELL considers how words can occupy space, move between people and influence the way we think and feel.
Words can encourage, persuade, manipulate or harm. Once spoken, they can act upon someone — sometimes even ourselves. In this sense, every word has the potential to become a spell.
IMAGINING
BRAINWASHING
SHARING
BOASTING
TALKING TO YOURSELF
SPELL began with Shinzato’s fascination with the way manga makes language visible. In everyday life, spoken words and thoughts disappear as soon as they are formed, but in manga they occupy a physical space through speech and thought balloons.
This visual device led her to imagine what our words might look like if they could actually be seen — and how differently we might behave if the things we said or thought remained visible around us.
The idea also connected with the Japanese concept of kotodama — the belief that words carry a spirit or power of their own. From this came the title SPELL: the suggestion that language can affect another person, or even the person who speaks it.