Urban palimpsests and contending signs

Bibliographic Data

ID12346227
AuthorsSydney J Shep (0000-0003-0699-3739, Victoria University of Wellington, corresponding author)
Year2015
Volume25
Issue2
Pages209-216
Publication date2015-03-15
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueSocial Semiotics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1035-0330 • E-ISSN: 1470-1219
PublisherRoutledge (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/10350330.2015.1010322
OpenAlexW2063820864
LanguageEN
Citations received14
References cited4

The contemporary semioscape is populated with ghost signs and talking walls: neglected and weathered, yet strangely permanent, vestiges of spaces and places, industries and individuals; richly layered evocations of a past that refuses to die. These urban palimpsests speak volumes about history, identity, cultural memory, desire, nostalgia, and erasure. They also compete with that riot of outdoor advertising we term modernity, blurring the distinction between state-sponsored signage, corporate advertising, and the culture-jamming practices of billboard liberationists and graffiti writers. This visual essay explores the vestiges of the printing industry in Wellington, New Zealand as it moves on and off the page from hand to industrial to digital.Keywords: geosemioticsurban palimpsestsghost signsNew Zealand printing industry Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.Notes on contributorDr Sydney J. Shep is Reader in Book History and the Printer at Wai-te-ata Press, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. She specializes in nineteenth-century comparative studies and digital history and has been the recipient of three Marsden Fund major research grants from the Royal Society of New Zealand as well as a National Tertiary Teaching Excellence Award. In addition to limited edition, fine letterpress editions, her publications include works on biscuit typography, emoticons, and reimaging narrative in the academy. www.victoria.ac.nz/wtapress

Art · Art history · Excellence · Graffiti · Literature · Media studies · Modernity · Narrative · Political science · Shadow (psychology · Sociology · Typography · Visual arts · History · Law · Media, Communication, and Education

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