-Nathan Lee

Take what you know about hip hop lyricism and split it into several forms of artistic expression and you have the blue print for Cipher. Using written lyrics, installation, sound, and film, Cipher dissects words into the forms of each of the mediums. If it cannot be digested through the audio presentation then the medium of the written word and installation remain. If it cannot be understood through those art forms, the medium of film remains and so forth. It is in essence explaining the idea of the written word through several different means. The film ties all of the other concepts together to tell the story being told.

In hip hop there has always been four elements or sides. I am trying to present a fifth element as a form of communication for people who do not necessarily identify with hip hop culture, but identify with the human condition and with the need to communicate human emotion. It is this component of hip hop that has been lost because of the commercialization of it. Lyrics were once central in the role of hip hop, now the importance of lyrical content serves as a droning noise not even audible above the musical backdrop.

Ciphers goal is to cut through the abundance of superficial meaning. It is meant to speak to the listener and observer in a language that is universal and thought provoking.

The curatorial process of creating CIPHER is maybe the most complex project that I have ever tackled. Essentially, we are including artists with little knowledge of hip hop culture. CIPHER is meant to challenge those artists and challenge the observer to dissect and examine the meaning of words through various mediums expressed by the artist. It is an experience as opposed to an exhibition. It has a beginning and an ending. Utilizing film, installation, technology and more CIPHER will immerse the viewer into a world where words become more than a written language, but also a human language.