For centuries cryptography has been used to ensure information secrecy and safe communication. We come across coded language in many different aspects of life. Historically queer people have had to use various codes and signals to indicate their sexual orientation to each other, without being put in danger. Tele_Code aims to shine a light on these hidden parts of history, which unfortunately are still only rarely taught within education systems.
This game takes inspiration from the Anne Lister Cypher, who used a substitution code to write about her relationships with women within her almost 5 million words long diaries. The single-player video game takes the player into a maze full of encoded teletext pages, who then must find hints which give them parts of the cypher. Caught in a maze of encrypted teletext, the players find themselves on a search for the right translation hints to encode the final teletext page and unlock the secret last page.
Sara Koniarek is an Austrian multimedia artist. Her works focus on the duality and relationship of analog and digital, as well as language cryptography and coding, aesthetically positioned between post-internet and classic photo- and videography. She completed her BA in graphic design and photography and is currently studying at the Kunstuniversität Linz, MA Interface Cultures.
Interface Cultures Exhibition - Ars Electronica Festival 2021
