The artist Karolin Meunier reflects on the reading of computer code in a series of three letters. The code is part of Anike Joyce Sadiq's project Utopian Institutions (2022–). Meunier shows that a text can be perfectly legible — in the sense that its letters can be read and articulated — yet still be incomprehensible if a known system of signs is used in an unfamiliar way.

All of Meunier's letters are presented both in written form and as audio files, read by the author. This way, they point to the two dominant understandings of reading: ‘reading with the eyes’, a silent mental process of understanding characters, and ‘reading aloud’, the (public) utterance of a written text. Writing comes into focus as the counterpart of speaking, reading as the counterpart of hearing.   

The first part of the series was published in con·stel·la·tions 03: Illegibilities Reflecting Reading (2025), and a performance based on the first two letters was shown at the READING READING ROOM on 18 March 2025 at daadgalerie Berlin. In 2026, the project will be presented as part of the group exhibition read to/for. I read to sense the doubling of time at Kunstverein Bielefeld, curated by Victoria Tarak.

Karolin Meunier is an artist and writer based in Berlin and Basel. Her performance, text and video works observe how access to individual experience is accomplished through cultural and standardized practices like translation processes, conversations, or learning methods.