ART

The A To Z Of Conflict
Raking Leaves 2019 ISBN 9780955667473 Acqn 29796
Pb 20x25cm 1052pp 500ills 350col £80

The A to Z of Conflict is a tri-lingual artists' book by ten contemporary artists. It imagines what a
commonplace children's ABC book would look like if all the entries were chosen in relation to
words about conflict, and words borne out of conflict. The project uses English, Sinhala, and
Tamil, the three languages spoken in Sri Lanka, a country torn apart by a brutal civil war. From
afar the compendium of entries testifies to the way language defines us linguistically, socially and
politically. Up close it reveals how the complex workings of language have the potential to conjoin
and divide us. Each copy of The A to Z of Conflict is bound in one of six combinations, reflecting
how three languages can be positioned without giving one language greater status over the other.
Drawing on the history of language conflict in Sri Lanka, this artists' book serves as a collective
means to think about how language rights, exclusion, status, and planning might serve us better
in the future than they have in the past.

Artists: Abdul Halik Azeez, Muhanned Cader, Arjuna Gunarathne, Nina Mangalanayagam,
Nillanthan, Anomaa Rajakaruna, T. Shanaathanan, Anushiya Sundaralingam, Chandraguptha
Thenuwara, Kamala Vasuki.

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