Logo rationale

 

The ANICOM logo, reminiscent of the upside down anarchy symbol, refers to the project’s rebellious nature and desire for social and political change. The anarchy symbol, generally associated with the rejection of authority, when put upside down, is  often seen as adding another layer in the abolishment of the existing order. Being turned slightly, it adheres to ANICOM’s wish to radically turn things ‘upside down’, sometimes in a playful way, in the academic world.

 

At the same time, ∀ or Aleph (sometimes turned slightly, or put on its side) is also the first letter of the early Semitic aleph-beth, which lies at the root of our writing here and now. It is derived from the Hebrew word for ‘ox’, and is the pictorial representation of the head of this animal, with its horns. The symbol makes us aware of the more-than-human field of phenomena that our own writing and thinking is tied to. At the same time, the hieroglyphic origin of Aleph underlines the importance of knowledges before and outside contemporary dominant modernity. 

 

 

This reference to language is not only of importance because of our interest in communication, or our own academic writing practices, but also raises awareness that, as David Abram (1996) posits, the progressive abstraction of linguistic meaning estranged us from the voices of the life-world surrounding us. The added eye of the bull makes that he is now looking back at us, signalling the awareness and agency of the animal.

 

Coincidently, the bull is also a powerful cultural emblem of the city of Liège, where the project ANICOM is hosted. In Walloon dialect the statue Li Toré (the bull) represents the city's strength and audacity, a rebellious symbol that is revered by the Liège students during Sait-Torê festival and incorporated in actions and protests at the Sart Tilman campus, where the ANICOM offices neighbor a second large bull sculpture.

 

 

To others, the ∀ of the ANICOM icon does not appear as a bull’s head, but rather as a deer, or as a bird with its head lifted to the sky, its beak open, speaking while she looks at us. Thus, the ANICOM symbol refers both to mammals and birds, which are the project’s most prominent animal research participants.