Simon Lee Gallery Hong Kong is pleased to present Trip of the Tongue, a group exhibition curated by Piper Marshall that examines how communication is filtered, trained, and disciplined. The title comes from a mistranslation of a common English phrase- “slip of the tongue”- meaning a specific kind of verbal blunder that is an excess of intended speech. Such slips can be telling, when they reveal our inner thoughts unintentionally, or they can also be random, absurd, or humorous. As social errors, they detour the conversation and push against the control we typically try to exert over our language.
Several of the artists in the exhibition likewise address, play with, and refigure language, while others point to idiosyncrasies of its deployment. Instead of privileging a fixed meaning, the artworks encourage us to take a more indeterminate route. If one can imagine a kind of typical “itinerary” from hearing to comprehending (with perhaps tasting or seeing along the way), the featured artworks encourage creative detours along the way.
