Requiem for a Cipher 2005 | Gordart Gallery

Requiem for a Cipher by Stephan Erasmus explores the interaction between love and sorrow through the engagement of encryption processes.

Erasmus has both accumulated and generated a large anthology of writings, which both recall and comment on the paradox between sorrowful love and the love of sorrow. It is from this anthology that Erasmus has painstakingly created a body of work where he has become 'the erotographimaniac', a writer of love letters to an ideal, to a muse. These love letters have, however been transformed from their original recognisable format through encryption. Veiled with substituted text, the compositions become serene, mysterious, enigmatic puzzles.

Requiem for a Cipher comprises artists' books, prints, drawings, paper constructions and string compositions. The distinct monochromatic palette strengthens Erasmus' investigation of emotional duality in a visually seductive, almost minimalist manner, resulting in objects of exquisite beauty.