Stories through visual poetry

A COLLAGE exhibition at Kank Wolverang Records is exploring poetry, identity and imagination.

The visual poetry exhibition entitled When Words Collide includes works in English, French and Romanian by local artist Faustin Epeabaka.

It is Epeabaka’s first exhibition in Ballarat and his works include excerpts from media publications.

He said he is guided to create by the words’ shapes and colours.

“If I like this title, I like this colour I put them together and it creates something,” he said.

“I call it the real functioning of thought… you are guided by the shape, the colour, it attracts you.”

Epeabaka said the aim of his work isn’t to criticise, but to explore the themes of politics, religion and money through irony and humour.

“I am inspired from the media, everyday life, what people are talking about and what is going on in society,” he said.

“I take this with humour and irony… most of the people who come to my exhibition will laugh and if they laugh, that means they find this irony and they find the message.

“That’s my way to express my opinion about what is going on in the world.”

Epeabaka first became interested in language at school where he studied English, French and Italian.

While at university, Epeabaka also learnt Romanian, which he found had similarities to French and Italian.

“Because I knew Italian, when I came to Romania it was easy for me to learn Romanian quickly,” he said.

“So, I am very interested in languages because in Romania it is very interesting, every Romanian might know two or three languages.

“That’s the way I became interested in languages.”

The exhibition is on display at Kank Wolverang Records until Saturday 21 June.