Laure Prouvost

More about the book

An ingenious object alphabet designed to relearn human communication As an attempt to rediscover the basics of human connection in these isolated times, French artist Laure Prouvost (born 1978) has developed a new ideographic language called "Legsicon." The aim of Prouvost's project is to unlearn and relearn language and engage with new methods of communication and narrative storytelling. Challenging the conventional systems of linguistics and representation, Prouvost replaces emotive words and concepts with anthropomorphized objects which are then transcribed and translated into progressively complex lexical and linguistic tests and eventually entire narratives. Dubbed the "Re-dit-en-un-in-learning Center," Prouvost's installation based on Legsicon encouraged visitors to the Lisson Gallery in London to decode and reinterpret such narratives. This volume includes documentation of the installation and the watercolor illustrations used to demonstrate Prouvost's object alphabet, as well as a series of new stories and texts written in Legsicon commissioned by the artist from various authors.