The Fourth Pole by Julia Wirsching and Gabriel Hensche
The publication chronicles an artist’s expedition to the Fourth Pole, presented as a multi-script diary typeset in four different languages: English, German, Arabic, and Hebrew. The lavishly designed book includes an introductory text, a detailed diary, and several imaginative pole drawings by the two artists Julia Wirsching and Gabriel Hensche.
The publication has two identical starting points – front and back. English and German, read from left to right, begin on the left side of the book, while Arabic and Hebrew, read from right to left, begin on the right side. This design ensures that each language system leads the reader toward the center, where the four languages converge at the pole.
Through this innovative format, the book opens up a space of the imagination defined less by national boundaries than by topographical and autobiographical coordinates, offering a unique and immersive reading journey.
The Fourth Pole was published by Edition Taube.
2 Comments on “The Fourth Pole by Julia Wirsching and Gabriel Hensche”
I am confused. Neue Helvetica is currently listed on this page, but the Latin sans-serif is clearly not Neue Helvetica (especially lowercase “a” and “y”)?
Good catch! I think it’s Plain. Burrow, can you confirm?