51°24’49.8″N 5°39’19.9”E
A visual essay for Forum+ magazine for research and arts. vol. 29 nr. 2, pp. 24-29, May 2022. Also available online (in Dutch).
The Letterzetter [literal English translation: Letterplacer. Referring to the European Spruce Bark Beetle] is an unsightful little beetle that inflicts enormous amounts of damage to European pine forests. The bug quickly becomes an infestation that proves to be fatal for drought-weakend trees during soft winters. The Letterzetter – Ips typographus in Latin – leaves complex tunnel-like structures that resemble an alien alphabet. To better understand what this Bark-beetle-epidemic is trying to tell us, these tunnels will make out the base for a new script: Ips Typography.
