for the love of type: February 2009

Last night was the opening night of Go Font Ur Self*, "an exhibition exploring type based artworks that reinvent the uniqueness of our alphabet" at Peer Gallery in Glebe. It was definitely an exhibition to tantalize all typo-senses of any font fanatic: giant foam letters lurking around ever corner, a typewriter at the bar with a unique script typeface, and a fish tank with the words "& Chips" overlayed. If only the Krispy Kreme's served on arrival been custom made into Fat Face letterforms.

As Peer Gallery's debut show it seemed a fitting venue for a type-related exhibition. The space is also home to Peer Group Media, and seemed to be the perfect playground for blurring the lines between the traditionally commercial craft of typography and art. The blurb on the show's website was a little dubious with phrases like: it "is common for the written word to lack personality," and "over time, their(i.e letters') simplicity has out ruled unnecessary detail due to their need for direct functionality." Nonetheless I appreciate the concept for the exhibition and the was impressed by the enthusiasm for the first of a series of Go Font Ur Self* shows.

With a roll call of 13 artists, Dave Foster's work titled A-Z was definitely a standout. Among many illustrative pieces where type appeared to be an after-thought or a token inclusion, his work was a visually striking composition formed by interconnected letterforms which made you look twice to recognize the alphabet. With letterforms as the primary subject matter it responded aptly to the notion of "reinventing the uniqueness of the alphabet" grounding it firmly as an artwork distinct from a functional typeface or poster design. Andreas Linnell's Helvetica Regular was a nicely-resolved look into the internal workings of a capital A and the simplicity of Roach's Hollywood put it among my favourites.

Despite the apparent absence of type in Edward Woodley's untitled work, the sneaky presence of the N,D and A from the Honda logo in the left corner cleverly reiterates the ability of the human eye to recognise letterforms from very little information and the power of branding and visual identity. The wall-mounted wood type which became interactive stamps were fun but perhaps more successful if their arrangement was more considered.

Overall, my predisposition to excessively loving typography leaves me just a tiny bit dissatisfied. I would have loved to see just a few more letterforms in the works and more in the same vein as work on the blog. However, solely typo-centred shows are few and with a huge turnout to Go Font Ur Self* I'm optimistic about a Sydney which will now be filled with more people obsessed with those 26 shapes that occupy 98% of my attention.

I am, however, still unsure of the meaning of the asterisk after Ur Self* in the title, perhaps its means *male artists only, or *if you don't like type, come for the free booze....