Briefkaart aan Philip Zilcken Possibly 1916

This is a postcard to Philip Zilcken by Maria Biermé, made with ink on card. Just look at this script! It flows from the sender’s hand in looping, diving gestures like dark vines, punctuated with the squares of postage. The postal stamps act a bit like geometric colour blocks, so serious and official, in contrast with the looping freedom of the handwriting. I can imagine Maria, lost in the process of writing, her thoughts and feelings becoming more and more embodied in the curves and pressure of the pen strokes. She’s really going for it here, just like a painter does, going over and over, layering and crossing out. So personal, intimate and immediate. It's almost illegible. Like a painting, this card invites us to slow down and decipher the marks, piecing together fragments of meaning. The flow of written language can be as expressive and captivating as any brushstroke.