Kim Campisano   
Artist & Educator

In Speaking Volumes, I concentrate my camera and my mouth on articulating one syllable of a pronouncement at a time. Assembled in a vertical cascade and printed as scrolls, each represents a complete phrase or chorus, as indicated by their titles. Through this process, I explore the attenuation of language and construction of meaning, as well as how ideas (and our own self-image) can evolve over time.

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​This series contains statements about women aging, as well as the lyrics from the Italian folk song, Bella Ciao. Prior to the commonly known partisan anti-fascist tune that gained popularity after the Second World War, the original version was written about and sung by the female rice paddy weeders (mondine) of Northern Italy, many of whom were migrants from the south of the country.

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I call upon the legends of the ancient Sibyls and Oracles of the Mediterranean, those female truth-speakers whom the Greeks and Romans consulted during times of crises and momentous events. These women, whose utterances, written on scrolls or leaves, represented the destinies of modest visitors and emperors alike. They were a bridge between the living and the dead, portals through which the gods spoke directly to people.