The beauty of distortion. How linguistic dislocation generates visual form

Abstract

This project was inspired by a moment of confusion during a journey abroad – where the boundary of language dissolved, and misreading quietly emerged, turning text into a visual maze. A mobile translation app rendered absurd phrases with cold precision but accidentally opened a door to poetic imagination. Misaligned language was no longer a failure, but a surreal entry point into humor and wonder. One striking case: a German cafeteria menu was translated as “vegetarian gyroscope.” The phrase conjured images of spinning vegetables and mechanical salads – absurd, yet strangely vivid. This moment revealed how mistranslation can generate rich visual potential. Drawing on Walter Benjamin’s concept of “pure language,” Derrida’s “différance,” and Amelia Walker’s idea of “chaotic translation,” this project explores the creative power of mistranslation in visual and spatial contexts. HGK Basel’s multilingual campus became the stage for this exploration. Misread signs were transformed into collages, typographic experiments, and site-specific projections, each reflecting the layered complexity of cross-cultural language flow. Focusing on four campus sites – All Welcome WC, The Half-Open Door, Elektro, and der Tank – the project reimagines spatial misreadings through image-making. Absurd translations gave rise to new, uncanny scenes: a toilet open to all creatures; a crying floor beneath an elephant; a forgotten electric lab; a bunker-like art space. These images were projected back into their real locations, inviting viewers to experience the poetry of misreading. Rather than correcting errors, this work celebrates it – as a lens to rethink translation, perception, and the beauty of not fully understanding.