Share Tokyo typeface 2016

Bahia Shehab's “Share Tokyo typeface” is a collection of symbols, a kind of alphabet, or maybe a secret code rendered in stark black and white. This work feels very contemporary, yet it’s rooted in centuries of calligraphic tradition. I'm drawn to the shapes themselves, how each one has a slightly different weight and balance. The dots, lines and curves create a language that feels both familiar and foreign. Look closely at how the artist uses positive and negative space. The black marks on the white ground have a boldness. Like notes on a page of sheet music, the arrangement of the shapes and their graphic simplicity has a poetic rhythm. This reminds me of other artists who have worked with asemic writing, like Cy Twombly or even some of the early Dada poets. It's about pushing language to its limits, embracing abstraction, and celebrating the pure visuality of form. Ultimately, it's up to us to find our own meaning within the ambiguity.