Xenoglyphs and Asemic Writing: The Joy of Creating Alien Symbols

For several years, I have found myself drawn to the practice of asemic writing (artistic, meaningless writing, which has the appearance of a genuine language). However, I didn’t know there was a specific term for the practice – or that it belonged to an artistic trend – until quite recently. When drawing, or just mindlessly…

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Glitchy Portraits by Justin Bower: An Exploration of Humanity’s Relationship With Technology

Justin Bower is a Los Angeles-based artist who creates oil paintings that have the appearance of being digitised, yet they are, in fact, entirely hand-painted. His portraits feature anonymous subjects with expressive, glitchy faces, attesting to our close relationship with technology. His exhibit “The Humiliations” is intended to show how we are losing our free…

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Asemic Writing: The Drive to Create Imaginary Languages and Alien Alphabets

I have long been fascinated by the artistic drive to create imaginary languages. Countless numbers of them exist. And some of them have made their way into public consciousness since they have been integrated into the fictional worlds and universes portrayed in popular books and television shows. These fictional languages include Elvish in the works…

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Yu Maeda: A Psychedelic Artist Blending Japanese and American Influences

Yu Maeda is a Japanese-American artist, born in 1984 in Kumamoto Prefecture in Japan, now residing in Southern California (and planning to return to Japan). He is known for his highly unique psychedelic paintings, the influences of which he has discussed in a fascinating interview featured in Juxtapoz (many examples of his art are included…

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Ernesto Muniz: A Collage Artist Reimagining Religious Iconography

Ernesto Muñiz is a Mexican collage artist, born in 1974 in Mexico City. But his passion for the collage medium came later in life. He studied graphic design at the Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City but after graduation turned to photojournalism, working for a number of photographic agencies, newspapers, and magazines all over the world.…

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