From 1 March to 5 April 2021, a daily Instagram posting was made from one of 36 RAG artists, comprising an image followed by a handwritten or drawn message on a postcard.

MESSAGES FROM SOMEWHERE was conceived during the third Lockdown of household isolation when finding ways of communication seemed imperative. The desire to be physical and to work with real postcards- sent through the post- became the basis for this online exhibition. To enable the written messages to be less self-conscious, each artist was sent a randomly allocated word from a list by Morris Swadesh, the linguist who identified words common to most languages. These simple words – included and highlighted – inspired the content of the messages and, most often, the images, communicating feelings to the group from seemingly far distant places.

Please click on images below to see the postings.

Devised and organised by Celia Toler and Sarah Granville, graphics by Jackson Holmes. With thanks to Peter Blegvad for sourcing and selecting the words.