During a series of workshops at Malévoz, psychiatric hospital in Switzerland, artist François Dey created a typeface in collaboration with the patients. Prior to this final result they experimented with different forms of being and participation. The hospital site, a public garden alike arboretum with grand sequoias older than hundred years is surrounded by mountains and woods which used to be a granite quarry. Early on, the geological society had asked for a cessation of mining activities on the erratic rocks brought by the ice fifteen thousand years ago. The vegetation has taken over the ruins of pathways and walls build in order to reach and dispatch the granite stones.
At one of the promenades with the group at the hospital surroundings, François grabbed a liana and brought it back to the studio. Another time they went on harvesting and braiding what they later figured were wild clematis plants. In another workshop they held and bended the braided clematis to form letters together. The alphabet seen as a common structure as well as a tool for expression. Reflections came later about why they thought they were allowed to harvest this plant which was denominated as invasive but started to look more and more human. The plant uses support of other trees in order to grow. In April its flowers pop up on the top of other trees. Eventually the group started working with brooms. The order and cleanliness felt like an attempted to contrast the wild and uncontrollable essence of the plant. The brooms were used to create numbers for the font.
François Dey has published his research material of this project in a small booklet Carnet de Résidence #5, stencil printed by Erwin Blok.
DESIGNER: FRANÇOIS DEY
YEAR: 2022
FORMAT: OTF, WOFF, WOFF2
LANGUAGE: LATIN
