"Exhibition Literature by August Highland"

Gallery
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August Highland conceived "The Paradise Effect" project in 2007 in anticipation of John Milton's 400th birthday. Highland had been considering a project like this since his highly successful show in New York in 2006. At that time, he exhibited a series of 20 large-scales works, each of which was devoted to a single literary figure. Works by Shakespeare, John Milton, Virgil and Dante, as well as works by modern writers such as Ginsberg and Highland himself were represented in the show. The enthusiastic reception of this exhibition led Highland to conceive of producing a comprehensive body of visual work devoted to a single literary figure. August Highland immediately embarked on preparing for "The Paradise Effect" as soon as the first opportunity arose for him to be able to launch such an ambitious project. The opportunity finally came in 2007. Over a 3-year period between 2004 and early 2007, August Highland had exhibited his work in over 30 shows. During this time, he had been amassing a voluminous notebook filled with plans for future projects which he had not been able to implement due to financial pressures, commission work and an exhausting exhibition marathon. Having achieved financial stability for the first time in his life, Highland was grateful for the opportunity to return to the studio and begin "The Paradise Effect."
Each body of work is titled after one of the 630 new words that John Milton invented in the English language. Milton invented such words as pandemonium, anarchy, ethereal, sublime and satanic. In each series or mix, Highland incorporates the text from Paradise Lost either in whole or part. Frequently, full lines are included, and sometimes partial lines, and sometimes a combination of the two. In some mixes, only the individual words from Paradise Lost are incorporated, and sometimes fragments of words. There are also mixes in which Highland combines the text from Paradise Lost with text from other sources, such as the keywords that internet users are searching for on Google and other search engines.

Veronica Delacourt

"THE PARADISE EFFECT"
Celebrating the 400th Birthday of John Milton

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"Jubilant Mix"

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