Zhiko Study Exhibit

About This Exhibit

This study grew out of an experiment in turning discarded materials into something new. Years ago, I was given a stack of faded, obsolete construction paper. At the time, I was studying Chinese calligraphy and Mandarin at university, and the aesthetics and mechanics of Chinese writing (Han Zi) were very much on my mind.

Rather than discard the paper, I decided to use it for an experiment: creating an ideographic writing system for Idrani inspired by the visual experience of Chinese characters. I sat down with an inkstone and brush and began to play—to explore how Idrani might be expressed through ideograms: forms that suggest meaning visually rather than simply representing sounds.

This study is the result of that exploration. The sheets presented here are only a small selection, capturing an early stage in the development of what would become Zhiko, one of the scripts I use for Idrani.