45 Symbols – Clay to Code

How can research, personal experiences, and complex ideas be translated into concise visual language? 45 Symbols – Clay to Code, examines how emerging artists and designers develop systematic approaches to visual language, inspired by one of the most enigmatic objects in media history: the 3,700-year-old, still-undeciphered Phaistos Disc, embossed with 45 distinct symbols. The works range from personal narratives to global themes and demonstrate how an original visual grammar can be constructed.

Over more than a decade, the internationally hosted design seminar series The Phaistos Project - Forty-five Symbols has evolved into a global community - driven by open calls, workshops, exhibitions, and risograph publications. The exhibition and publication, “45 Symbols - Clay to Code”, brings together over 2,000 symbols as the result of this collaborative endeavor. It stands not only as a living archive of research inquiries, but also as a testament to collective experimentation, bold visions, and the expression of intercultural dialogue. 

www.45symbols.com

Initiated and edited by Olivier Arcioli, Pascal Glissmann, and Andreas Henrich

With the kind support of New Design University St. Pölten