The Garden of Earthly Delights Cipher Board

This piece was developed from a thread in the Ledger included on the bed in Tolle Lege.

I became interested in cryptography due to the increasing amount of policing of speech around criticising the genocide in Palestine in the education sector.

A piece by Liberty published on 22nd February 2025, says that as many as 113 students and staff have faced disciplinary action in connection with their pro-Palestinian activism. “Students are facing a “worsening crackdown on free speech”, a teaching union has warned, after new evidence emerged of universities reporting peaceful pro-Gaza protesters to police, subjecting dozens to disciplinary action, and collaborating with private surveillance firms. At least 28 universities are now known to have launched disciplinary investigations against students and staff in connection with their Palestine activism since October 2023, with as many as 113 people affected, a joint investigation by Liberty Investigates and Sky News found.”

I selected elements from the Garden of Earthly Delights, first redrawing them (shown below) and then painting them on squares of birch plywood that I had left over from the Sunset Lexicon table. I laser cut these symbols and their Roman counterparts and assembled the whole thing on three MDF boards, which are on display somewhere.

I also created a typeface which you can download by clicking the button below. I think it works on PCs, but I work on an Apple computer. There are no numbers and I am not a professional typographer, so be patient with it.