Nheengatú time reference is just one of the types of combinations of spoken and visual language that some linguists are beginning to suspect may be more common than is currently known; since historically many languages have been studied only based on written words and audio recordings, future scientific studies of video recordings may find new and
unexpected types combinations of spoken and visual language that may have been previously invisible.
The origins of Bernhardt's graphic, pattern - based approach can be traced back to her early encounters with street graffiti and a distinctive
type of African fabric that is made using a technique called «Dutch wax printing» (and which, coincidentally, often contains
unexpected combinations of objects).