WOUO (a word of unknown origin)
John Ryaner

WOUO (a word of unknown origin)
Edited by John Ryaner

2017

$10/€10

Soft cover, 60 pages, 297mm x 210mm
Printed in Germany
ISBN – 978-0-996282246

WOUO (a word of unknown origin)
a publication of artist texts edited and designed by John Ryaner

featuring texts by Susan Conte, Faye Green, Erika Landström, Ingo Niermann, Samuel Hasler, Aniara Omann, Line Ebert, and John Ryaner

WOUO is a collection of fictional texts which chose words of unknown origin as a starting point. (a word of unknown origin is a word without a known ethymological source – there's lots of them). During the development of the publication eight artists were sent a large and random group of lonely words of unpinpointable beginnings (267 wouos and counting) and were asked to contribute a text which somehow themed around the list of wouords. The result is WOUO, a book of nine quite different but often similar wordy texts.

WOUOS: askance, ballyhoo, bamboozle, bantar, barney, baroque, bevy, bigot, bizarre, blight, blizzard, bludgeon, bogan, bogus, bonkers, botch, bozo, brazen, brick, bug, buggy, bully, bungle, burlap, bustle, busy, cagey, chad, chap, cheese, chow chow, chum, clobber1, clobber2, clobber3, coddle, codswallop, coil, condom, conniption, connundrum, copacetic, cricket, cub, cuddle, culvert, curmudgeon, dandle, dildo, dill, dippy, dodge, dogie, dowse, drivel, dyke, fink, fit, flabbergast, flare, flivver, flub, flue, fond, fret, frowzy, fuddle, fuddy-duddy, fun, galoot, gammon, gandy dancer, garish, gash, gee, gimmick, gimp1, gimp2, gink, gizmo, gloom, gourmand, griff, groom, guilt, hag, hazy, hemlock, hijack, hip, hip2, hobbledehoy, hobo, hoity-toity, hokey-pokey, honky, hoodlum, hooey, hootenanny, hornswoggle, humbug, hunch, inkling, jack, jake, jalopy, jamboree, jaunt, jazz, jeer, jerkin, jib, jiffy, jitney, jive, joey1, joey2, josh, kibble, kike, kilter, kit, lad, langer, lobscouse, lollygag, lummox, malarkey, masturbate, moolah, mosey, mull1, mull2, nag, nerd, nifty, nitty-gritty, noggin, oodles, palmistry, palooka, palter, peevish, pernickity, peter, pike, pimp, pixie, ploy, pod1, pod2, pogey, pooch, pot, pother, privet, puzzle, quiff, quirk, race, rascal, rate, raunchy, rinky-dink, rouse, rowdy, rubber, runt, scad, scallywag, scam, scoundrel, scrim, scrimshaw, shebang, shelta, shenanigans, shim, shingle, shoddy, shuck, skag, skedaddle, skulduggery, slang, sleather, sleazy, slouch, sludge, slum, slut, snazzy, snide, snig, snit, snitch, snooker, snooze, sobriquet, splice, spliff, sprain, sprocket, spunk, sqaunder, squid, stash, stooge, strand1, stymie, sulky, surf, swatch, swig, swizzle, taffy, tag, tantrum, tinker, tizzy, toddle, toggle, tormentil, tot1, tot2, transmogrify, trash, trick, trifle, trinket, trounce, turmoil, twerp, wack, welterweight, whim, willies, williwaw, wingding, wonk, wouo, wraith, yank, yankee, yegg, zilch, zindfandel, zit, etc, etc.