Join art collective Pararailing for a talk and workshop inspired by the recent publication of their artist’s book, Railing Codex, published by Page Bureau. Workshop begins at 7PM.
Railing Codex is a collective dictionary created by Pararailing, their friends, and friends of their friends. Since 2022, Railing Codex has invited over 60 contributors to write their own definitions for nothing more ordinary—and yet utterly unknowable—than words. Spanning geographical terms, mathematical concepts, flora and fauna, architectural elements, everyday objects, medical terminology, and neologisms, this growing collection of writings respond to the slippage of meaning that marks our post-pandemic world through the very attempts to define, undefine, and redefine.
Initially launched as an online project, Railing Codex has expanded into other forms over the past few years, including installation, community printshop, workshop, and an artist’s book in the form of a slanted dictionary, designed and materialized by RELATED DEPARTMENT. Using the print publication as a point of departure, this event will feature a presentation by Jie Shao, Sixing Xu, and Snow Xuecan Ye, members of Pararailing, followed by an intimate workshop. Guided by the conceptual framework of Railing Codex, participants will explore expanded forms of definition-making and collective authorship through a series of prompts and exercises.
