Slow extinction is a natural process that takes place from the first day of the Earth. Due to the constant human assimilation in the environment, the process of extinction is difficult to notice until the last minute when the critical damage is already done. While in the world glaciers are melting, deforestation is reaching its limits and the cities which stood for centuries are falling apart, in Lithuania the dunes of the Curonian Spit* are slowly disintegrating. Every year due to changing weather conditions and irresponsible human behaviour these dunes are increasingly changing its terrain. Ever lasting dunes little by little disintegrate.

With typographic project “Endangered Dunes” I try to eternalize the uniqueness of the Curonian Spit and to show the consequences of irresponsible behaviour in this Lithuanian National park. To pursue this I created a typeface Naglis. This typeface is like the Baltic Sea amber that is grown from the rarest Curonian Spit plants. Also I separately created 122 disintegrated versions of Naglis typeface. Number 122 is symbolic, because 122 years, after intensive logging in the 17th and 18th centuries, the dunes began moving towards the Curonian Lagoon, burying 14 villages under the sand.

This typeface just like the dunes in spit is deformed by the west wind. On the typeface webpage every attempt to download Naglis will destroy it more and more. Only a responsible choice can encourage the longevity of this project just like the conscious behaviour of the visitors in unique Curonian Spit landscape can slow down disintegration processes. In the book specially created for this project the viewer can find information not only about the history, uniqueness, problems of the Curonian Spit, but also more information about this creative project.

Although it is not possible to stop the extinction, but it is still possible to slow down the ongoing processes together. The first job for every one is the responsible choice of the future.

* The Curonian Spit is home to the highest moving (drifting) sand dunes in Europe. It is a 98 km long, thin, curved sand-dune spit that separates the Curonian Lagoon from the Baltic Sea coast. Its southern portion lies within Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia and its northern within southwestern Lithuania. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site shared by the two countries.