Decision on the text is important, as a crucial component to my already very conceptual approach to the Formulate brief. I would like to highlight the runic nature of QR codes, its visually occult potential. Given that it is nearly impossible to be comprehended my human brains, I should focus on the unknown, and subsequent fear. And in my opinion, no one has been better inspired by the uncanny feeling when facing the unknown – H. P. Lovecraft.
An utter xenophobe with primitive level of math and science understanding, Lovecraft was a master of summoning uncanny discomfort and thalanthophobic fear towards the unfamiliar new. What I found notable in his library is the short story Cool Air, a grim response to the invention of air conditioning. I found it fascinating as how fear can possess one’s sight and skew it towards such dramatic imagination of an invention that revolutionised modern life.
If Lovecraft was alive today, I am certain that he will produce a even more dramatic horror masterpiece in response to the mass usage of QR codes. If I had more time for this project I will definitely commission this writing or brave it myself. For now I chose his most notable work of all – the Call of Cthulhu, which also features runic symbols and foreign languages.