The Language Within Us is a collaborative project by painter Muhammad Zaman and photographer Michael Mandolfo. The exhibition explores the intricacies of human communication and identity through the medium of language. Zaman’s painted fabric, featuring intricate calligraphic symbols, serves as the focal point of the exhibition, with photographs, audio recordings, and video projection of participants expressing language through Mandolfo’s multimedia approach. The result is a multisensory experience that is both dynamic and profound.

At the heart of this multimedia installation is a complex interplay between multi-track audio that expresses language, video projections of abstract body movement onto the hanging fabric, and a spatial environment that merges the body’s movement with letters, symbols, and calligraphy. The resulting bond of these elements can feel lyrical and discordant.

The Language Within Us is an invitation to join in a collective journey that explores the mysteries of human communication and identity through language. As you step into the central space created by the hanging fabrics, the ethereal light filters through the translucent fabric painting, casting an otherworldly glow that draws you in. Outside of the enclosure, the viewers witness the beauty of the interplay between the fabric, video movement, and light.

The Language Within Us encourages the viewer to embark on a journey to explore the very essence of what makes us human. Through this exhibition, we invite you to be present and experience the magic of language as a powerful and unifying force that brings us all together.

Content and images sourced from Burchfield Penney Art Center.