Keikichi Honna is wrapping up his artist in residency program in Germany and recently emailed out the following thoughts and photos of his finished installation piece. Set & Drift thanks Keikichi for sharing his silly, astonishingly honest and always insightful thoughts with us along the way.

I guess you saw the first wall painting.  But it wasn’t finisched stage.  So here comes its entire picture.  Also I’ll write down each word.
I can tell you the meaning, too. Here is a list of the word.

1 Eichhornchenschwanzspitze
The very first word I got from a visitor.  “tip of the tail of a squeal.”

2 Oberschenkelknochen
I can’t remember the meaning.  rather short, but good practice.

3 Telekommunikationsdiensteleisungen
Someone found this word on an old phone bill.  So this word is legit.

4 Betaubungsmittelverschreibungsverordnung (2-bit a)
regulation requiring a prescription for an anesthetic

5 Muhlenstillgugsdurchfuhrungsverordnung (2-bit u’s for the first and fourth)

6 Konstantinopelitanischerdudelsackspfeifenmachersgesellschaft
From Mark Twain’s Connecticut Yankee.  He invented this word as a magic spell to scare people at King Arther’s Court.
Bagpipe Maker’s Union in Constantinople

7 Niedergeschwindigkeitswidkanalversuchsergebnis
Results from low-speed wind tunnel testing

8 Rindfleischetikettierungsuberwachungsaufgabenubertragungsgesetz
Specially mentioned at Germany’s word of the year ceremony. This is a legit legal term, regarding to regulations on labeling on beef.

9 Donaudampfschffahrtsgesellschaftskapitan
Every German knows this or other variations. Danube Steamboat Company Captain

10 Schneckengrunerfeuerwehrdrehleiterverantwortlichrinreservestellung
Someone told me, or just made up in front of me.  Something about a position at a small village’s fireengine, or something like that.

There are some misspelling, which I can’t remember where.  And  can’t keep mentioning “2-bit” this time.  It became way too cumbersome.

And the last but not least, here is a quote from Mark Twain again.  It’s nice reading, and my last work is from this anecdote. Here goes.

A Dresden paper, the Weidmann, which thinks that there are kangaroos (Beutelratte) in South Africa, says the hottentots (Hottentotten) put them in cages (Kotter) provided with covers (Lattengitter) to protect them from the rain. The cages are therefore called Lattengitterwetterkotter, and the imprisoned kangaroo Lattengitterwetterkotterbeutelratte.

One day, and assassin (Attentäter) was arrested who had killed a hottentot woman (Hottentottenmutter), the mother of two stupid and stuttering children (Stottertrottel). This woman, in the German language, is entitled Hottentottenstottertrottelmutter, and her assassin takes the name Hottentottenstottertrottelmutterattentäter. The murderer was confined to a cage – Beutelrattenlattengitterwetterkotter – whence a few days later he escaped, but fortunately was recaptured by a hottentot, who presented himself at the mayor’s office with beaming face:

“I have captured the Beutelratte”, he said.

“Which one?”, asked the mayor, “we have several”.

“The Attentäterlattengitterwetterkotterbeutelratte”.

“Which Attentäter are you talking about?”

“About the Hottentottenstottertrottelmutterattentäter”.

“Then why don’t you say at once the
Hottentottenstottertrottelmutterattentäterlattengitterwetterkotterbeutelratte”?