Cyphers combines papercutting, ballpoint pen, and hand-sawed copper to create a hypothetical encounter with a fictional, undecipherable script. By inviting audiences to use a speculative cypher to decode a series of abstract drawings, Cyphers explores the communicative potential of abstract marks when they are framed – or misread – as carriers of hidden meaning. The work prompts consideration into the moment a drawing transitions into writing, and asks whether collaborative efforts to decipher, decode, and misread meaningless marks can contribute to the illusion of legibility.