What does a word look like when we write it down purely by its sound? And what emerges when we play with alphabets along the way?
We explored these questions in the PLURI workshop “Polyphonic Alphabet” at DTK Wasserturm in Berlin-Kreuzberg, together with Carolina (@laranadg) from @migrarteperu. Here, writing was not just a tool but something to experiment with: as sound, as form and as material.
Our starting point was printed Latin letters, which we used to build words according to fixed rules. Things became interesting when words from the participants’ languages came in. Most of us did not understand them; we could only listen. To capture them, we had to follow their sound and search for signs that came close to it, and the familiar alphabet was often not enough.
Out of these experiments, our own alphabet emerged, built from the sounds and scripts of the group.
Out of these experiments, our own alphabet emerged, built from the sounds and scripts of the group.
