Chiaroscuro

Image © Lizzie Ridout

'A word is true to its shadow.'

'And now I'll say farewell. Here's my card. I live on the sunny side, and I'm always home when it rains.'

The Shadow, Hans Christian Andersen

After a day at the beach collecting my own shadows, I made these. Quick ideas for a series of paperworks I'm currently battling with. I have some other plans for what the text actually says…

Images © Lizzie Ridout

Skia, the ancient Greek for shadow. Also meaning trace.
In medieval Arabic, the word for shadow is the follower.
In American sign language, shadow is black stain.
The German schatt derives from the Greek skot, indicating obscurity.

With the assistance of Roberto Casati and his book Shadows: Unlocking Their Secrets, from Plato to Our Time.