A HA HA, 2009

A HA HA consists of a series of double-sided green flags, each of which contains palindromes and words of multiple meanings, that can be read from both sides and construction is dictated by this necessity. Suspended from beams, intervening playfully into the space, the work directly addresses and involves the viewers who can see the work in a fleeting moment or sit and contemplate it as they crane their necks to read the words hovering above them.

A HA HA is a development of Eldret's interest in paradoxes and mis-communicated language. The title further illustrates this – “ha ha” describes both an expression of laughter and a man-made geographical feature or trench. Concerned with how audiences apply their own histories and understandings to work Eldret is intrigued by the elusive instant in which “art” actually occurs – in the mind of the artist, in the head of the spectator, when words are written, letters read, spectacles experienced or ideas thought.

Shown at Jerwood Space, London 29 October – 14 December 2009. To accompany the exhibition Laura Eldret produced a limited edition poster in collaboration with Alexandre Bettler.

Photos: Dan Weill