The two earlier stages are documented here as part of the progression.
1/2 Stage One
This progression illustrates the process of defamiliarisation required to detach the work from its original Chinese cultural context. In the first stage, although I believed I had already completed the shift into a visual narrative (as explored in Practice I through the notion of “inner vision”), I unconsciously re-inserted cultural meanings from my own background. These were introduced directly in visual form, and for a long period I did not even notice their presence.
This sketch was measuring approximately 15 × 220 cm. It was made in the form of a traditional Chinese handscroll.
2/2 Stage Two
In the second stage, after removing these additions in order to return to a more essential form (see detailed discussion in Chapter 6.1), I initially conceived the project again as a book-like object. At this point, I realised (partly through observing my supervisor’s attempts to play with it) that the balance between Chinese characters and explanatory text disrupted the sense of playfulness. Encountering several unknown characters only to receive their meanings grouped afterwards felt closer to a decoding exercise than to the rhythmic, one-by-one cadence of reading the original poem. Moreover, the materiality of the water-writing cloth meant that freshly written pages stuck together when turned, further interrupting the rhythm. This second stage was eventually abandoned, leading to the current version.
