Jo Pond: The Oxford Comma

Image from 'A Man of Culture: Lexicology II- The Oxford Comma'.

'For me, Oxford has always been the home of the Pitt Rivers Museum… This fantastic collection leaves me brimming with images of Museum exhibits, labelled artefacts and drawers full of wonders to inspire my work… 

However, Oxford also holds the intellect of a prestigious University and it is this that seems to be focusing my thought. I dabble in the potential for wearable items to become vehicles for communication and the use of the written word is often a favoured element within my pieces.

A punctuation mark received much press recently. An anonymous Twitter user announced that a style guide on a University of Oxford website recommended against using the Oxford comma. The public defence in favour of this tiny element of punctuation was utterly charming and quintessentially British… incentive to create!'

Fliss Quick: The Truth behind Oxford?

On my first research visit to Oxford I set out with the intention of unearthing what it was that made Oxford, Oxford. I wanted to try to capture the essence of this city; I was looking to make sense of it. I observed and recorded in an effort to uncover clues which would help me decipher its truth.

It became clear as I explored this city that it is one of mystery: Buildings and places where entrance is restricted yet which display tantalising views and hint at a secret world beyond.

Walking its streets, I observed how the city imparts compelling extracts of its narratives; snippets of conversation overheard or fleeting moments observed; stories of which we can only guess the beginnings or endings. In this exploration of the city I found myself drawn to the detritus and marks left behind, whose traces belied the stories played out on the city's stage.

I find myself approaching this enquiry as a detective would a mystery. I am trying to piece together the evidence in an attempt to reconstruct and retell this city's stories.