Becky Lisk

      This abstract drawing discusses the impact that language has on society with main references to surrealist painter René Magritte's The Treachery of Images: This Is Not a Pipe and George Orwell's novel 1984. In both influential pieces the artist/author exposes the power behind imagery and language and it's ability to manipulate others. As our society heavily relies on the government and media outlets to provide information, it becomes clear that there is a tendency to believe what is written or shown through the media without further investigation or thought. There continues to be an increase of inaccurate information being spread that does not get questioned or provided with academic sources to prove authenticity. The title Broken Telephone connects the viewers to an experience of a childhood game that begins with one person whispering a word or phrase to the person next to them, then that person continue to relay what was heard until the last person reveals typically a new misheard word or phrase. This game provides an example of how easily and quickly ones perception can alter the truth as it continues to spread.