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IAN HAMILTON FINLAY - Bibliophile Publications from the Collection of Wilfried Wynants

(c)scan: M HKA, Antwerp
A, E, I, O, BLUE, 1992-1992
Print , 45.8 x 152 cm
print; ink on paper

This print piece contains many of Ian Hamilton Finlay's hallmarks, including simplicity, the use of concrete poetry and a fondness for thoughtful witticism. It features a perfect rectangle composed of a single shade of blue with letters stencilled in white to provide contrast. A soft sans-serif typeface is used to reflect the overall playful quality of the image. 

The piece is an example of Finlay's visual poetry - illustrating the artist's propensity for "concrete" poems - which utilise puns; arrangements of words and visual effects to create witty, thoughtful pieces combining philosophical ponderings with a lightness of touch. The image presents four letters and a word in sequence separated by commas, effectively forming five words phonetically in the viewer's mind. The initial letters are the first four vowels of the English alphabet (A, E, I and O), and the sequence is completed by the word "blue", which creates a rhyme on the phonetic pronunciation of the fifth and final vowel, "U", to complete the set. The audio pun is complemented by a visual pun, since the word "blue" contains the letter "U" and is connected to the background colour that predominates in this image.