CRXSS Workshop

2024
Workshop, Identity

A cross-scriptual typography workshop kit that bridges cultures.

Societies internationally have become increasingly diverse as they experience more cultural exchange. However, an individual can often feel inertia when they engage with the unfamiliar, especially when it comes to the sensitivities associated with ‘other’ cultures.

CRXSS is a typography-based workshop that oversees participants in learning the systems of various scripts to devise their own blend with one they’re familiar with, bringing them on a journey to cross the gap between familiar and unfamiliar and begin to embrace multiculturalism.

The Square Word Calligraphy system.

The workshop structure takes inspiration from the New York-based, Chinese artist—Xu Bing. His Square Word Calligraphy writing system puts a spotlight on the interplay between Latin and Chinese scripts and challenges fixed ways of thinking.

CRXSS expands on this mission and encourages participants to freely discover the scripts of the world. A series of workshops were conducted in-person and online with largely monolingual individuals; discussions naturally occured between participants to produce collaborative explorations, resulting in the sessions acting as a form of cultural exchange.

The products of the workshops were then collated and presented as a series, alongside a map linking the participant’s home country and cultural origin of the script they explored.

Workshop extended run

The workshop’s run extended into 2025 for public participation as part of Save The World Club Charity’s Lunar New Year celebrations.

It was modified to be incorporated as part of a chinese ink painting workshop, focusing on East Asian scripts and stripping it back to be akin to the project’s original inspiration—Xu Bing’s Square Word Calligraphy.