The connection between language, knowledge, and light is much stronger than one might believe. Sensory perception of the environment around us serves as the basis for our knowledge as humans, and that knowledge goes on to influence how we see the world. Language is the carrier through which we transmit the knowledge we have acquired, and speaking different languages, in turn, creates multiple consciousnesses with different codes for interpretation. Thus, we reach what Matthew T. Kapstein described in the book The Presence of Light: Divine Radiance and Religious Experience (2004) as the “self-conscious ‘I’, whose degree of consciousness is stated in terms of luminous intensity.” Illumination seeks to visually and audibly reveal this relationship through a multilingual narrative and sound-reactive physical installation.

Spoken-Word Narrative Performance, Stereo Sound, Edison Light Bulbs, Bulb Extension Cables, Black Paint, Cardboard, Dimmer Pack, Laptop.

The self shines bright to the invisible eye. It is a star sprung from cognitive concept and strung sounds in the cosmos of culture. 

A single morpheme sparks the light, the fire of intellect, and illuminates both person and path.

With a word I am luminous, and in a word I exist. The words I speak reflect what I know, and in language I find my body and soul.

Las cosas que conozco brillan dentro de mi. Y debido a ellas, mi propio cuerpo ha llegado a ser la luz.

Mis palabras iluminan al mundo, y la palabra me ilumina a mi. El lenguaje se convierte en cuerpo, y el cuerpo un ser. Entonces, sin lenguaje, ¿quien soy?

언어가 없을 때 영혼은 어디로 갈까요? 아직도 빛나요?

不可能的。

A body cannot exist without a language, and a language cannot exist without a body.

El lenguaje funciona como un bombillo y el cuerpo la lámpara que lo sostiene. Un contenedor para la luz que se convierte en luz propia, y un bombillo que a la vez es lámpara.

그런데, 내 몸안에서는 여러 개의 빛이 있어요. 밝게 빛난 빛 있고 희미한 빛도 있어요.

灯光倾向于混合在一起。

Sometimes, a thought will sound like algo que no puedo expresar en un solo idioma.

A veces, mis pensamientos 겹치다.

But sometimes, I become monolingual.

感觉怪怪的。但是我知道 난 혼자가 아니에요.

El universo es en realidad un conjunto de luces. Nosotros somos luces, y nos alumbramos los unos a los otros.

Let the light shine out of darkness on our hearts to illuminate them with the glorious knowledge.

Such is la palabra, la palabra escrita.

우리 모두가 계속해서 밝게 빛나는 미래로 향합시다.

With the brightness of a word, we make a world.