quasi: experimental writing systems more+




TITLE

Untitled

ARTIST/DESIGNER

Lavinia Lascaris

DATE

2023

This cipher is a creation of an eight-year-old in the 1990s. Based on the Greek alphabet, it was devised intuitively, with no underlying logic governing its symbols. It reflects the references that a young person growing up in Athens found accessible; some characters are simple and recognizable–like hearts and smiley faces—while others are more intricate. Writing systems are typically designed for communication between individuals, but this particularscript remains known to only one person, making it a medium for selfcommunication. Since its invention, this cipher has been a constant presence in the life of its creator. Initially used to safeguard secrets from bothersome younger siblings, its purpose has evolved to serve as a reminder about the whereabouts of hidden things. The text being written in the video transcribes one of Aesop’s fables about a sick lion king, a devious wolf, and a vengeful fox.


Artwork courtesy of Lavinia Lascaris. All rights reserved.


abjad
abugida
acrophony
acrostic
alphabet
alphasyllabary
asemic writing
automatic writing
boustrophedon
character
character set
cipher
code
conscript
cryptography
encode
experimental
grapheme
glyph
hieroglyph
hieroglyphics
imaginarium
language
letter
letterform
linguistic
logosyllabary
logographic
logogram
nat scirpt
neography
optophonetic
phoneme
phonetic
pictograph
quasi
re-worlding
script
syllabary
syllable
symbol
speculative
torus
versimilitude
writing system
Mark
Mark