Our Creative Direction

Geraldine Tan, Creative Director, The Eloquent Orifice

The driving force behind the work we do at The Eloquent Orifice (EO) is our belief that no voice should be deemed too insignificant or too different to be worth hearing. (Unless, of course, you are espousing the benefits of genocide/rape/other horrible things that no sane, moral being will endorse.) We operate within an all-inclusive framework, publishing works of merit, regardless of the creator’s renown, nationality, origin, sexual orientation or age.

In 2013, we founded EO with the overarching altruistic desire to bring the Arts to the masses, to make it accessible, and to encourage creative expression.

In 2015, our mission retains the original ideals upon which EO was founded, striving to provide an all-encompassing platform publishing a wide range of works from critical essays to photography. We accept a range of creative works and critical essays, and warmly welcome commentaries and papers examining the sociopolitical landscape, with the ultimate aim of encouraging a generation of interdisciplinary Artistes and critics, furthering discussion and understanding of the Arts, and encouraging an exchange of ideas within the global community.

While some may subscribe to the Modernist belief that Art should exist only for Art’s sake and may be wary of addressing social, economic and political concerns using Art, we believe that Art does not merely concern itself with only aesthetics and form’s superficiality. Instead, we believe that Art has an obligation towards society, by not shying away from the discussion of marginalised and silenced concerns. What if Alice Walker had shied away from writing The Color Purple because of the fear of the repercussions of a black woman seen as trying to destabilise the sexist and racist status quo of 1980s America? What if City Lights Publishers had refused Allen Ginsberg’s Howl and Other Poems?

At EO, we believe that all Art is inherently political. No work can exist in a vacuum, detached from the context it is born out of. Decontextualising Art out of the fear of discussing its accompanying social, economic and political concerns would be akin to stripping it of its identity, rendering it meaningless and weightless. To deny this would be akin to claiming that Art exists only in and for itself — which cannot be, as everything is in constant interaction. To deny the inherently political nature of Art is to deny Art’s birthright and take a reductive approach to creative expression.

Likewise, EO does not and cannot exist in and for only the Journal itself. We exist for Art and its critique, for creativity and the engenderment of active discourse.

Our creative direction goes against l’art pour l’art, and we invite you to join us in our journey.