Swiss Embassy: What were the ideas, feelings or experiences that led to the creation of your poem?

Heike Fiedler: I liked the idea of poetry in public space, which brought me back to the origin of concrete poetry, as expressed for example by Eugen Gomringer or Franz Mon. Today, some inventive publicity is based on their observations, regarding the relation of message, time and space. With a few words, I wanted to directly address the topic ofpoetry, and last but not least the fact that language may invite you to play, if you try.

Typoetry’s theme is “Rethink – Rebuild”. How did this theme resonate with you?

More than ever, we are confronted with subjects dividing people, emphasized by the recent experience of war, its terrible reality, and the resurgence of nuclear weapons and armaments. The prefix ‘re’ in rethink, rebuild is a sign for repetition, indicating the never-ending need for efforts to come together in order to resolve problems, instead of accepting the unbearable, the absurdity of violence. The use of poem and poetry in a very minimalistic text re-flects this idea of repetition, as well as the challenge to overcome division.

Any thoughts on the final artwork, how your poem interacts with the design?

There is this arrow, pointing in another direction! The dots appear like a plurality of universes! I love this visual interpretation or let’s say, translation! The interaction between text and visuals opens perspectives and, hopefully, interrogation. Of course, being together doesn’t mean forming a homogeneous mass, but co-existing with our differences.

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Heike Fiedler is a Swiss author, multilingual poet, performer, researcher and sound and visual artist. Fiedler explores the relationship between performance and writing, language and sound, composition andimprovisation. Learn more: Website | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube

Design by Paul Sturm, Master Type Design, ECAL/Universityof Art and Design of Lausanne. Learn more: ECAL MATD | ECAL MATD Instagram | Paul Sturm Instagram

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Typoetry is a showcase of poetry and Swiss graphic design. Around 30 works by poets from Switzerland, the UK and Newham are forming artistic trails in the London Borough of Newham from 20 May to 17 July 2022. Learn more.