TXT (Engine of Wandering Words)

"Trade brings languages together. It is easier to borrow an existing word from another language than to make one up." Ana Torfs, 2012.

This work consists of six Jacquard tapestries, each representing a mechanical device with twenty-five images that appear to be operated by the surrounding cranks. The images are taken from photographs, etchings, paintings, geographical maps, manuscripts and books from different eras. Is it a visual dictionary, a rebus or perhaps a children's game?

TXT points to the shared etymology of the words text, texture and textile, which derive from the Latin verb texere or 'to weave'. Wandering words refer to Wanderwörter, a special type of loanwords that have travelled across many languages, cultures and continents, often following on the heels of trade. For this work, Ana Torfs chose the wandering words ginger, saffron, sugar, coffee, tobacco and chocolate. At first glance, the work looks light-hearted and playful. Image by image, however, it shows the devastating consequences of international trade, often linked to colonisation, slavery and exploitation.

The title also refers to the writing device called the Engine, as described in Jonathan Swift's seminal novel Gulliver's Travels from 1726. In the fictional city of Lagado, Gulliver comes across a wondrous machine that can auto-generate strings of words. In 1838, the artist Jean-Jacques Grandville made an illustration of the device for a French translation of Swift's work, which forms the basis of Torfs' depiction. At the bottom of the tapestries, the artist places fragments from Swift's novel that describe the Engine. Swift's invention is considered a fictional precursor to the computer. So is the Jacquard loom from 1801, which used punch cards to revolutionise the process of weaving, paving the way for modern automation.

This work was commissioned by the Sharjah Art Foundation – SB11- 2013.