“Many artists developed systems or took on languages to structure their compositions. For this score, Nelson Henricks chose to appropriate English musical notation, which uses letters from A to G to identify the notes of the scale. In combining these letters to make words like CAGE, FACE, DEAD or BED, he simultaneously offers up a semantic and melodic suite. He enriches this double reading with images that clarify or divert the sense(s) of the word. For each tableau, letters appears one after another, creating a rhythm supported by a grid in which colored squares blink on and off. The enumeration of simple words accompanied by images is reminiscent of children’s books, in which every expression carries multiple cultural connotations. In borrowing from didactic forms, the artist brings to light the gap between when is “shown” and what is “said”, the space between images and language, or between sound and words.