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In an independent study project: I took on the task of translating a dense literary text, Shakespeare’s ‘Othello’ into a visual sequence. This became a process of translation via simplification – a testing ground to explore how an abstracted visual language can convey the underlying tone of a dense plot – and in some way, enact rather than tell the story.

As I went through the process of creating this visual language, I was aware that the abstracted simplicity of ink on a page, and a single letter-pressed letter – both enhanced and detracted from the communicative potential of the piece. While I was attempting to chart the tonal and emotional progression of the play, I was unable to communicate the actual language of the play. I simplified the language to essentially portray the two male leads, Othello as the solid O and Iago as the fine line. Using the movements of these letters was the only clue for the viewer as to where in the story we are. The X represents location change – when the play shifts from Venice to Cyprus and the frenzy of the storm.

In the end, I approached this piece as a sort of typographic opera based on Othello, one that could work with the additional layers of sur-titles explaining what scene and act is occurring.