Calligraphy artists, graffiti artists, and type enthusiasts understand one basic truth: oftentimes, it’s not what you say, it’s how you say it. Such is the striking work of Pokras Lampas. Combining calligraphy, graffiti, design, and typography, Lampas is considered a distinguished member of the “Calligraffiti” movement, spearheading a style that is known as “Calligrafuturism”.
“Calligraphy is not only about art, it is the way to pass the message,” stressed the Russian artist in an interview with Medium. “Just imagine, in hundred years people will realize that they actually need the way to communicate with each other—and to provide humankind with the lingua franca, where all the languages are evenly represented. Here we will need to find new letter shapes, because everyone would want to see their country represented in the new alphabet.”
His work reads like an artistic interpretation of this future, like an undeciphered language. According to Lampas, his calligraphy work is a combination of the different languages and letters, with the end result an uncanny representation of human speech.
“I write my thoughts on culture, technology and art are influencing the future,” explains Lampas. “The language itself is not important—but the way how people are searching for the unified language and what guides will they use to transform written languages is.”
With almost half a million followers on Instagram alone, Lampas’ futuristic language is making a splash both online and offline. Displayed in museums and galleries around the world, it has also won him some prestigious awards. Amongst them is the GQ Russia “MAN of the YEAR: NEWCOMER” award for 2019.
