Joana Rodrigues – L

The starting point for this project was to explore writing as a Human construction, simultaneously artificial yet inseparable from the nature of culture. While dialects change with speakers, sign systems are easily appropriated by them. Alphabets are in that sense malleable to different perspectives. While still evolving, the elementary units by which they are composed – the letter – claim no ownership.

We therefore reflect on the importance of the letter as the fundamental unit of writing, as well as the need for formal education for the interpretation of the message. This relates to the concept of the tabula rasa, for without socialization the letter becomes part of a blurred liquid landscape of unintelligible signs. Culture however turns it into our nature, from which we cannot be detached. While letters may assume different configurations, we still recognize and interpret their meaning.

The present work aims to reflect on these dynamics, establishing the parallel between culture and written communication, while preserving the formality of writing as opposed to the innate ability of speech.