Siqotsa - Perastar

About This Exhibit

Because many Idrani scripts employ square or rectangular glyph blocks, the Siqotsa script was an experiment in constructing a writing system for Idrani inspired by Maya stone inscriptions. I developed the script from the ground up and then explored its possibilities by creating charts, syllabic combinations, modifiers, and written examples, treating the script as both a linguistic system and a form of calligraphic design. The project became an opportunity to explore how much information could be incorporated into a single written character while maintaining coherence.

As the script developed, however, I became increasingly aware that the visual and aesthetic similarities between its forms and elements of Maya writing felt inappropriate. It made me uncomfortable in light of the history of the Maya and the way their culture and literary traditions were trampled and destroyed by colonial conquest. The cultural history, uniqueness, and significance of the Maya writing system left me feeling as though I was encroaching upon and appropriating Maya culture. Rather than simply overlooking that, I chose to treat it as a useful boundary in the creative process. The Siqotsa project therefore remains a brief but instructive experiment in constructed writing–and an example of recognizing when an invented aesthetic begins to approach an existing cultural tradition too closely.