Orthography In Disregard – Elize de Beer
QSS is delighted to host Orthography In Disregard in Gallery 2, a solo exhibition by artist Elize de Beer.
Opening event: Thursday 8th February, 6-8:30pm. No booking required, please see the ‘visitor information’ section of our website for further details on visiting the gallery https://www.queenstreetstudios.net/visitor-information/
Exhibition Dates: 8th – 29th February 2024
Artist Talk: Thursday 11th February, 11am-12pm
General opening hours: Monday – Thursday, 10am-5pm.
Orthography In Disregard
Elize de Beer
Letters seem to move and shift as I try to make sense of the words. All rules of language no longer apply; letters become three-dimensional, layering on top of one another and becoming so intertwined that meaning can no longer be found. However, see how the letters are now merely lines, shapes, and forms floating off the page—open for interpretation.
Orthography In Disregard is a solo exhibition by Elize de Beer that explores written language, the objectivity and tradition of books, and an interpretation of her dyslexic reading experience. Alongside a series of etchings, screenprints, and letterpress prints, de Beer has created large-scale pop-up book sculptures. These abstract text-based artworks aim to provide viewers with an immersive and alternative reading experience.
This exhibition challenges the conventional boundaries of orthography and books through de Beer’s dyslexic lens. Dyslexia, a neurodivergent condition, influences the way individuals process and decode written language. Books as carriers of that written language were traditionally adorned in hand-marbled paper and letterpress type. In Orthography In Disregard, books are transformed into large-scale sculptural objects—still carriers of knowledge, but now abstracted across the multiple planes and forms of paper mechanisms.
Orthography in Disregard celebrates the fluidity of language and the nature of books. They are both carriers of meaning that can change and shift depending on the reader. The exhibition aims to bridge the gap between conventional understanding and the rich, diverse world of dyslexic interpretation.
Artist Talk: Thursday 11th February, 11am-12pm
About the Artist:
Artist Biography
Elize de Beer is a South African artist based in Cork, Ireland, working from her studio at Sample-Studios. She graduated from the Michaelis School of Fine Arts at the University of Cape Town, South Africa with a BAFA and an honours in Curatorial Studies. As a printmaker, book artist and sculptor, she belongs to the printmaking collective “The Printing Girls”, “Press.On” and is a member of Cork Printmakers. She has been part of numerous international exhibitions and has artworks in both private and institutional collections.
Artist Statement:
Elize de Beer is an artist and bookbinder based in Ireland, working from her studio in Sample Studios, Cork. Since the start of her artistic practice de Beer has strongly been influenced by her dyslexia. Within her expanded print practice, de Beer’s dyslexia became her methodology for creating abstract, conceptual and text based artworks. It is through trying to understand her relationship and fascination with written language that the objectivity of books and their power became a focal point in her practice. Through print, artist books and sculptures she explores the greater concepts and concerns around books, their use and access of knowledge. Further examining public and private library spaces and archiving practices.
Instagram: @elizedebeer.art | website: www.elizedebeer.com
