Material/Object > Authoritative Forms

Authoritative Forms, a poem-object, asks how formal entities-- from documents to contracts to the people we turn to for advice to the language we use to make truth and promise, to the furniture we sit on-- construct aspects of our belief systems. The piece gathers by way of a long meandering poem read by taking a seat at a table and lifting a series of handmade papers to light to read watermarks. Watermarks, often used as proof of authenticity and security, are inseparable from the paper, made when the sheet is formed. Authoritative Forms makes an ambiguous taxonomy, brought to dis/order by those who read and arrange the papers.