The Politics of Type

The Politics of Type explores how typography is embedded within wider political relations.

In 1929, the traditional Ottoman script for written Turkish was replaced with a Latinised version, intended to ensure the Atatürk regime’s long-term cultural influence.

Two hand-painted signs announcing this change became the basis for a new typeface, recontextualising its letterforms from a tool of governmental discipline into one open to new modes of communication.

The typeface was applied to a promotional poster for a forthcoming documentary, which examines the wider political contexts which made the recent earthquakes in Turkey and Syria so destructive.

Collaboration with Tom McFarlane.