smalltalkers°

Untitled (Loveleaf)

Decrypting the Most Mysterious Book in the World

In the six or so centuries that it’s been floating around, bouncing from scholar to scholar and occasionally disappearing for decades at a time, the Voynich manuscript (as it’s come to be called) has yet to be translated. That might be due to the fact that it’s written in a language no one’s ever seen before or since.

South Korean-born artist Kimsooja has had a long, intense career full of installations, performances, photography, videos and site-specific project. This particular installation from 2006 is at the Palace de Cristal in Madrid.

Jean le Noir (attributed to), Christ’s Side Wound, before 1349, tempera and gold leaf on parchment. Psalter and Prayer Book of Bonne de Luxembourg, The Cloisters Collection (69.86), The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

The Bridesmaid, 1851