The idea behind this exhibition was to say that there are many ways of communicating. Some people do best with the written or spoken word. Others are visual communicators using pictures or signals to converse. We wanted a vehicle that would speak to this concept and sent out a call for entry for  an exhibition called “In Your Mother Tongue: A Word and Image Dialogue.” Our thinking was that two artists would submit as one collaborative entry. We requested two photographers or a photographer and a poet (or writer), or two poets, a poet and a writer, or two writers submit as one entry.  We only received submissions that were either by two photographers, a photographer and either a writer or poet and two photographers that each communicated with two painters. We received no submissions of an interchange between two writers.

The artist collaborations for “In Your Mother Tongue: A Word and Image Dialogue” are listed here:

Alina Marin-Bliach and Zoe Gonzalez
Edward Boches and Barbara Boches
Joy Bush and Stephen Vincent Kobasa
Richard S. Chow and Georgina Marie
Gina Costa and Yvette Meltzer
Adrienne Defendi and Angelika Schilli
Alex Djordjevic and Andrej Djordjevic
Yorgos Efthymiadis and Arlinda Shtunii
Diane Fenster and Miles Stryker
Kev Filmore and Kate Gallagher
Bill Gore and Ann Nicholson Brown
Linda Grashoff and June Goodwin
Michal Greenboim and Leslie Jean-Bart
Law Hamilton and Lauraine Alberetti Lombara
Law Hamilton and Alexanderia Eddy Casey
Silke Hase and Tristan Stull
Rohina Hoffman and David M. J. Hoffman
Evy Huppert and Angus Scott
Leslie Jean-Bart and Steven Gentile
Diane Nicholette Jeon and Nina Weinberg Doran
Marcy Juran and Ellen Hoverkamp
Karen Klinedinst and Richard Manly Heiman
David Kulik and Stephanie JT Russell
Stephen Levin and Leah Aronow-Brown
Yvette Meltzer and Gail Spilsbury
William Nourse and Lisa Goren
Jane Paradise and Rich Perry
Jaye Phillips and Denise Lynch (2 entries)
Lee Post and Tom O’Leary
Susan Rosenberg Jones and Steven Gentile
Susan Rosenberg Jones and Brahna Yassky
Karin Rosenthal and Ellen Jaffe
Tony Schwartz and Victor Schwartzman
Lisa Paulette Silberman and Erica Silberman
Vicky Stromee and Catherine Harold
Jane Szabo and Elline Lipkin
Neelakantan Sunder and Diana Sunder
JP Terlizzi and Joshua Sarinana
Stephen Tomasko and Daniel Sapp
David Underwood and Susan O’Dell Underwood
Cate Wnek and Susan DeWitt
Julie Williams-Krishnan and Yuyutsu Sharma
Jonas Yip and Wai-lim Yip
John Yrchik and Eileen Sypher
Dianne Yudelson and James Yudelson

Our rules asked that within each pairing there needed to be an idea that connected the collaboration. Each team found his/her own partner. We did not provide a limitation on theme. We chose submissions that best answered our call for entry and showed an interchange of ideas. As jurors and “readers” we saw exchanges where the topic was the unifier. We saw definite dialogue between collaborators. We saw submissions where the collaborators spoke in different “languages” per se, yet we as jurors could follow intent. Connection was truly happening. Each artist spoke in the language that felt more natural; either as word or image. In other words each spoke in their “Mother Tongue.”

We leave it up to you dear readers to decide how you communicate best. Perhaps you will discover that you have a natural affinity for all language. We hope you enjoy the challenge of this exhibition as viewer and participant.