Defamiliarization through Chalk Art: A Word Picture

"Dungeon" by Philip Beever


Look into the dungeon and see those who suffer below: one man reaches his hand out to us with a pained face. To the right, a man climbs up a rope held by a man above. On the farthest wall, another prisoner climbs up the brick walls with his bare hands and feet. The sun is to our right, as we can see from the diagonal shadow on the back wall. Bits of sun also sprinkle in through the barred window on the right wall, while the other windows remain in the shadows. In the darkness lies a skeleton.

Then look up and see that above the dungeon lies our world: the real world. In the lower right corner lies the chalk to remind us that the dungeon and its prisoners are nothing more than chalk art on the floor. Indeed, the man on the right is not pulling up the man who climbs up the wall, but simply posing for a photo.


More art by Philip Beever