Ebon Heath is a talented wordsmith, but not by the typical definition. The master of words creates laser-cut sculptures that bring life to letters that are otherwise stagnant on a page. Living and working between Brooklyn, Bali, and Berlin, the graphic designer and art director is also well versed in sculptures, mobiles, and photography. His typography sculptures are a magical transformation of the written word into what he describes as a “new language of physical type.” He liberates the letters from the printed page and gives them a three-dimensional existence with which viewers can interact.
To develop each piece, Heath takes concepts of typography and body language and fuses the two together, creating an artwork in which words and bodies live and exist in the same space. His intentions are to create a visual experience for the viewer in which the typography and the natural motions combine to tell the same expressive story. Although he developed the original concept, Heath doesn't create these pieces on his own. He depends on a team of collaborators to help make his vision a reality, including dancers and choreographers who identify the natural body movements and curves that become the shape of the sculptures, and mechanical engineers and fabricators who develop and build the actual structures. Heath says, “I want our typography to jump, scream, whisper, and dance, versus lay flat, dead and dormant, to be used and discarded with no concern for its intricate beauty of form, function, and meaning.”
