Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Nice to Meet You in Paradise


Nice to Meet You is an audience participating interactive drawing project created for an exhibition called Paradise Stories. The exhibition is organised and curate by Jay Yung; and it is going to take place in March 2008 in Liverpool in conjunction with the 08 European Capital of Culture.

In Nice to Meet You, I wanted to experiment a drawing and installation through the interaction between audiences tracing each other’s shadows. It will set up in a room with a single light bulb hanging down from the middle of the ceiling. The shadows of the audiences will be cast on the wall as they entered the room, they will be asked to interact and trace the shadows of the people next to them in that room with the brushes and paint provided.



The rationale of the piece is that in drawing, when we make marks we situate ourselves within a drawing in relation to what we see. Hence in Nice to Meet You, when they trace a human shadow they situate themselves in relation to the person they are tracing that constitute what is present to us as we are – a web of transient and fluxional interrelationship. Paradise may be found in a web of interconnections that is made up of calm and peaceful individuals.


Saturday, August 25, 2007

From Blind Light to Inner Light

Antony Gormley's Event Horizon, 2007

“You could say that there are two very discrete and almost oppositional places where a sculpture belongs. One is physical: in a landscape or a room, and the other is in the imagination of the viewer, in his/her experience and memory. They are equally important and in many senses the work is there waiting – almost like a trap for the life of the viewer to come and fill it, or inhabit it. And then once “captured” the art – or its arising – inhabits him or her.”[1]



Antony Gormley’s Blind Light (17 May-19 Aug 2007) at the Hayward Gallery presents a new series of installations accompanied by earlier sculptures, drawings, prints and photographs.

Other than featuring a series of brand new monumental works specially conceived for The Hayward’s distinctive spaces; the exhibition includes one of the largest ever urban public art commissions called Event Horizon, which features sculptural casts of the artist’s body on rooftops and public walkways across central London. The life-size figures casts out of the artist’s body spreads outwards from The Hayward in all directions over a 1.5 sq km area, dramatically transforming the city skyline.

The Blind Light installation is one of the focal pieces of the exhibition. It has a large white glass box using ultrasonic humidifiers to create a thick fog like atmosphere with very limited visibility; the viewers can only see each other within inches. This powerful piece exposes our feeling of uncertainty; I strangely experience the feeling of submitting myself to an endless ground upon entering the installation. I felt almost blanked and being cut off from the external space when trapped and lost in the bright white light. It is close to meditation process where one redirecting himself to focus and aware of his inner space, but adding a chance taking element relies on the instinct. The piece makes us aware of the space our bodies inhabit but somehow take for granted.

Blind Light, 2007

In one of the exhibition room displays a spectacular series of suspended figures created in light-infused webs of steel, are shown alongside a selection of works from the last three decades. In this, Gormley described, “The bundles of nothing are the most dematerialised works I have ever made… is the closet I get to Brancusi’s notion that you can turn an object into light. He did it by polishing sculptures, whereas I have tried to do it by abandoning weight and mass and dissolving surface.”[2]

Antony Mark David Gormley OBE (born 30 August 1950) is an English sculptor. His best known works include the Angel of the North, a public sculpture in Gateshead and Another Place on Crosby Beach near Liverpool. Born the youngest of seven children, Gormley grew up in a well off family in Hampstead. “After taking a degree in archaeology, anthropology and art history at trinity college, Cambridge, he went to India, where he became interested in Buddhism and studied Vipassana meditation. Three years later he returned to England to study at the Central School of Art, Goldsmith College and the Slade School of Fine Art”.[3] His career was said “given early support by Nicholas Serota who had been a near contemporary of Gormley's at Cambridge giving him a solo exhibition at the Whitechapel Art Gallery in1981”.[4] Gormley said: “The body is our first habitation, the building our second. I wanted to use the form of this second body, architecture, to make concentrated volumes out of a personal space that carries the memory of an absent self …”[5]

He began making moulds of his own body in 1980. Almost all of his work takes the human body as its subject, with his own body used as the basis for metal casts. He describes his work as "an attempt to materialise the place at the other side of appearance where we all live."[6] Many of his works are based on moulds taken from his own body, or as he described, "the only part of the material world that I live inside."[7] His work attempts to treat the body not as a thing but a place to identify common conditions experience by human beings. The non-symbolic quality of his work is indexical traces of real event of real body in time. “His belief that the spiritual and physical selves are inseparable is reflected in works such as Land, Sea and Air II (1982). Three figures, crouching, kneeling and standing, were placed on the seashore, embodying the process of Buddhist spiritual awareness. The work also referred to the earthly condition of the body and man's relationship with his surroundings.”[8]

In regard to his experience on Buddhism, Gormley revealed in the BBC Radio 3 interview with John Tusa, he said, “I was very fortunate to meet S N Goenka in India when I did, and to learn you know a form of meditation that, that was completely direct. There was no, there were no mantras. There was no mysticism. It was simply about learning how to sit still and watch what happens, very similar to Zen Buddhists...” Tusa then asked, “do you still do that? Can you still do those disciplines?” “Yes I, I still do, I, I think that the majority of my work comes out of exactly that discipline. The process of being moulded for me has become a meditative process. It's a time in which you use your will actually to defeat your will, and that, that in a way is evoked in the moulding process where you have to maintain your stillness but then up to a certain point, and then after that point your freedom of choice is determined by that act of will that preceded it, so you can't move because you're actually completely imprisoned in this mould.”[9]

During the interview Tusa again asked: “When you had your conversation with Ernst Gombrich there was one remark he made which I want to raise with you now, he said, ‘art is a game with only one rule, and the rule is that so long as you think that you can do better you must do it even if it means starting again’. Do you accept that and do you live up to that challenge yourself?” Gormley remarked:

”It's absolutely the only way of living I think. If there is any way in which something can be improved and you don't follow that way, you've failed yourself.”

Over the years, I discover that Buddhism practice is the closest things to art practice, both through a gradual process of cultivate your self to push the thought and accomplishment from one level to another higher level, and keep transcending and overcoming the thinker-self. Towards the end, the oeuvres that reveal the artist’s physical line of thought is secondary compares to the artist himself has in fact upgraded his thought and layered his wisdom. Therefore, eventually, the artist is the work.



[1] Gormley, Antony. Antony Gormley: Blind Light (The Hayward exhibition booklet), 2007. Page 4.

[2] Ibid. Page 14.

[3] Ibid. Page 20.

[4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antony_Gormley

[5] Gormley, Antony. Antony Gormley: Blind Light (The Hayward exhibition booklet), 2007. Page 5.

[6] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antony_Gormley

[7] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antony_Gormley

[8] www.groveart.com

[9] Transcript of the John Tusa Interview with the sculptor Anthony Gormley. http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/johntusainterview/gormley_transcript.shtml

Tuesday, July 3, 2007

Coming exhibition: "Notthatbalai 2007" Art Festival, 21 Jul - 5 Aug 07

Between 21 July - 5 Aug 07, I will be showing my work in an art festival called "Notthatbalai 2007 " in kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The art festival is organized by a group of individual who was said from "diverse art disciplines and social background who are passionate about art, embodying the spirit of sharing and giving".

One of the Notthatbalai 2007 art festival publicity materials


According to the organisers ""Balai" refers to a space, place or institution that organizes programme". They believe that artists should organize their own event and exhibition to convey their theme and what they concern. This may be penetrate our everyday life in which it "can be done anywhere at anytime for anyone".

The theme for the festival this year is "Sama-sama", this is also a Malay word which embraces the meanings: same, altogether, synchronize, mutual, participation, neutral, equality etc. Over a period of two weeks, the festival will present activities of arts include: visual art exhibition, musical performance, drama, dance, independent movies and short films projection. Various workshops, discussions and forums are also in their plan.

Sunday, July 1, 2007

China trip: Get it Louder 07 exhibition, GuangZhou, June 2007

On 17 Jun 07, William Hailiang Chen and I went to GuangZhou, China to execute a project called As Much As You Like (Click here to link to our official website) for Get it Louder 2007 exhibition. This is my first collaboration with Chen who was graduated from London AA school of architectural and currently working with Wilkinson Eyre architectural firm.

It was an intense six working days because we have to built the sculpture from scratch in China that requires estimated 10,000 pair of disposable chopsticks and immense amount of assemble work. We were negotiating a sponsor from London Metropolitan University for this project to promote the University unfortunately it did not work out. However, the university has kindly promoted As Much As you Like on their website instead.

As Much As You Like 韧用 developed from my work Assemblage of Used Disposable Chopsticks, 2000. For the Chinese title ‘韧用‘: the word ’’ has two meanings. Firstly, it’s pronunciation is the same as ‘‘ which has the meaning of no tie. Secondly,’ also means durable or long lasting. While in English, ‘As Much As You Like’ refers to eating, it makes a connection to the buffet style serves in some of the restaurants in the UK where diners pay a fixed price to “eat as much as you like”.

The initial proposal of this sculpture involves public participation in which, we would invite the public to withdraw the chopsticks from a pre-made lantern shape sculpture to use for their meals in the food court next to the exhibition space. The public will then make use of the used-chopsticks to form a pie shape furniture. Due to the time limit and financial difficulties, this process has to be abundant.

This experimental sculpture portrays the China today after the ‘reform’ and ‘open to the world’ under the late chairman Deng, his policies has brought China enter a new era that influence the world. It also combines both Chen and my interests, where we observe the relationship of the materials with us within a temporal consume environment or time frame, searching ways to make connection and expand the life span of the chopstick and its paper pocket accompanied.

Sincere thanks from me and Chen to everyone who helped to execute the project: friends, Get it Louder 2007 and the volunteers.

Checking the exhibition space with Chen (right)

Getting on with the work in a small room we hired from the GuangZhou Academy of Art

Table relates to dinning, we use it as a base for our sculpture

Cardboard is the packaging for the chopsticks, we use it as a base to insert the chopsticks

Holding tight

Some of the volunteers working on the sculpture at the exhibition space

Chen is briefing the volunteers

The volunteers stayed awake whole night to finish the piece, we were working under dimmed light and very hot and humid condition

Finding the right hanging angle

Getitlouder 07 opening ceremony, 23 June 07

Getitlouder 07 visited by thousand of visitors everyday

Closed up view of the two pieces sculpture

There are more images and texts archive on our designated site for this project, please visit: http://www.asmuchasyoulike.org/

Saturday, June 30, 2007

Malaysia Trip: Artist talk at Lost Generation Space, 6 June 2007

Another artist talk was organized during my trip in Malaysia based on the title The Ground We Share, it was approximately 20 people attended the talk. Again, thanks to Kim Peow Ng and also Lian Heng Yeo, curator of Lost Generation Space whose helped with the coordination work. Lost Generation Space is an exciting alternative gallery space situated in Taman Seputeh, the heart of Kuala Lumpur and a stone throw from Mid-Valley, the biggest shopping mall in Malaysia. This year, they organized Notthatbalai Art Festival 07 based on the theme Sama-sama, which is going to take place between 20 July and 5 August. It is "an art event organized by a group of individuals from diverse art disciplines and social backgrounds who are passionate about art, embodying the spirit of sharing and giving."

Outside Lost Generation Space, Lian Heng Yeoh (in the middle) and Kim Peow Ng (in white).

A discussion after the presentation

Another scene during the discussion


Malaysia trip: Artist talk at the Dasein Academy of Art, 10.05.2007

An artist talk was organized in Dasein Academy of Art while I was in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Special thanks go to Kim Peow Ng (An artist and fine art lecturer in the Academy) helped to organised this. The talk (about an hour and 45 minutes) based on the title The Ground We Share was attended by about 50 students, it presents my work from 1998 to date. The student raised questions on my work based on the presentation and discussed studying art abroad.

Outside Dasein Academy of Art

A scene from the talk

Answering students' questions over a light refreshment


IRHH's "What is Karma ?" seminar on 25 March 2007

IRHH Europe organised a seminar on "What is Karma?", it took place at the University of Westminster on 25 March 2007. What is IRHH? IRHH Europe (The Institute for Research in Human Happiness) is a charity organisation made up of people who aim to refine their souls and deepen their wisdom, the center spreads the light of Truth, with the aim of enlightening people in the principles and practices of Buddhism. Besides book and electronic materials, IRHH is one of the resources for my knowledge on Zen Buddhism.

Mr George Noguchi (director of IRHH Europe) delivers a talk on "What is Karma?"


Visitors to the seminar browse through the books written by the founder
of IRHH Master Ryuho OKawa during the tea break


A simple ceremony to join the new members


Tuesday, May 1, 2007

Coming exhibition in Get it Louder 2007, China




Working title: As Much As You Like韧用

Date and venue:

23 Jun – 7 Jul Guangzhou

21 Jul – 4 Aug Shanghai

16 Aug – 1 Sept Beijing

To be confirmed Chengdu

This is a collaborate project between me and William Hailiang Chen, it will be exhibited in Get it Louder 2007 in China. Chen from China is an architectural graduate from the Architectural Association School and currently working in an architectural firm in London. He is interested in environmental sustainability issues in relate to transformation of object and materiality.

The concept developed from my sculpture piece Assemblage of Used Disposable Chopsticks, 2000. The working title ‘As Much As You Like’ refers to eating. It makes connection to a buffet style serves in some of the restaurants in the UK where diners pay a fixed price to “eat as much as you like”. The title translated into韧用 in Chinese, same pronunciation as has the meaning of using what ever amount you like, also means thing can be used as many times as possible.

Disposable chopsticks have very short life span; we threw them away almost immediately we finished our meal. This project combines both Chen and my interests, where we observe the relationship of this object with us within this temporal environmental and time frame, searching ways to make connection and expand the life span of the chopstick and its paper pocket accompanied. Trapped between controllable and uncontrollable, applicable and non-applicable, we are trying to allow dialogs to expand among the chosen materials and with the viewers. The work may be seen as a cross between architectural form and sculptural form.

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

John Cage (Picture from www.culturevulture.net)

The Contemporary comparative Euro-Asian Studies Research Group
Sir John Cass
department of Art, Media and Design,
London Metropolitan University
Comment on the discussion of John Cage’s lecture on nothing, 5 March 2007

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Nothingness is a key concept in the ontology of Mahayana Buddhism; the teaching can be traced from the Prajna Paramita Hridaya Sutra, commonly known as Heart Sutra, which contains about 600 scrolls that make up the Maha Prajna Paramita. Presumably this is the oldest Mahayana texts that originated from India around the time of Christ.

This is an extract from the Heart Sutra translated into English by Edward Conze, it goes like this:

Here, Sariputra, form is emptiness and the very emptiness is form; emptiness does not differ from form, form does not differ from emptiness; whatever is form, that is emptiness, whatever is emptiness, that is form, the same is true of feelings, perceptions, impulses and consciousness.

Many Chinese Buddhism writings claim that, 色se即ji是shi空kong,空kong即ji是shi色se,色se不bu异yi空kong,空kong不bu异yi色se, (in English which means form is emptiness, emptiness is form, form does not differ from emptiness, emptiness does not differ from form) is also came from the Heart Sutra. This sentence often being misinterpreted not only by the West but also a large proportion of Chinese speaking society. The West likes to interpret emptiness as void and see the doctrine as a form of nihilism. And, the East often relates it to sexuality because the word 色 can also mean wanton.

Emptiness which translated from the Sanskrit word Sunyata (Sunnata in Pali) does not mean void, there are neither two separate individual nor the opponent. In fact, emptiness and form is like both sides of the same coin, there are in one. What is the sound of one hand clapping? We need both left and right hands, or clapped on a surface to produce sound. D.T Suzuki once said:

“As long as man is the work of nature and the even the work of God, what he does, what he makes, can not altogether be despised as material and contrasted to the so-called spiritual. Somehow it must be material-spiritual or spiritual-material, with the hyphen between these two terms – spiritual not divided from material, material not severed from spiritual but both combined, as we read, with a hyphen.”

Does this mirrors the phrase emptiness is form, form is emptiness? Shall we say form – emptiness or emptiness – form like Suzuki’s description above? Can we accept that the idea of emptiness and form, spiritual and material, positive and negative are comparable examples of “oneness”? Somehow, these exist interdependently like the interconnection between people and materials; everything is part of something else.

Thanks to Professor Brian Falconbridge taking nearly 30 minutes of his concentration to read through the whole of Cage text from Lecture on Nothing (5 March 2007). Cage attended D.T Suzuki’s lectures at the Columbia University and had several private talks with him. His interest in nothingness or emptiness may be stemmed from his long interest in Zen Buddhism, Cage said in his autobiographical statement:

“It was also at the Cornish School that I became aware of Zen Buddhism, which later, as part of oriental philosophy, took the place for me of psychoanalysis. (…) In the late thirties I heard a lecture by Nancy Wilson Ross on Dada and Zen. I mentioned this in my forward to Silence then adding that I did not want my work blamed on Zen, though I felt that Zen changes in different times and places and what it has become here and now, I am not certain. Whatever it is it gives me delight and most recently by means of Stephen Addiss’ book The Art of Zen. I had the good fortune to attend Daisetz Suzuki’s classes in the philosophy of Zen Buddhism at Columbia University in the late forties. And I visited him twice in Japan.”

In my opinion, Cage’s lecture on nothing works like a modern day apocalypse. He grabbed and pulls down our veils to reveal our nervousness when thing falling in silent or when we stop for a moment just doing nothing, for instant going for a purposeless walk. In the world of needs, production and consumption where time is often being seen as money, almost everything we do must be justified and purpose fulfilling. The uncomfortable repetition of words like “nothing to say” and going no where of the lyric make the pulse of the listeners grow quicker and they begin to hear the sound of their blood stream. It is like Cage described he notice that silence was not the absence of sound but was the unintended operation of his nervous system and the circulation of his blood that led him to compose 4’33’’. Fortunately for Cage, he was able to understand nothingness in which a space of silence is needed in order for our mind to cast the rhythm of the ignored commonplace sound. Thus, Cage also saw the point of Rauschenberg’s White Painting in which it allows dust, shadows, insects etc to land on it to take its form; Cage also claimed that White painting inspired 4’33’’.

Listened to Cage’s Lecture on Nothing reminded me Suzuki’s lecture in London for the World Congress of Faiths, 9 July 1936. He was asked to contribute a topic on The Supreme Spiritual ideal. Instead of going on talking about the supreme spiritual ideal, Suzuki humbly said in his lecture:

“When I was first asked to talk about the Supreme Spiritual Ideal I did not exactly know what to answer. Firstly, I am just a simple-minded country-man from a far corner of the world suddenly thrust into the midst of this hustling city of London, and I am bewildered and my mind refuses to work in the same way that it does when I am in my own land. Secondly, how can a humble person like myself talk about such a grand assembly of people, everyone of whom looks to me to be wise and intelligent, knowing everything that is under the sun? I am ashamed that I have somehow been made to stand here. The first mistake was committed when I left Japan.”[1]

Instead of going on talking about the supreme ideal of spirituality for hour, he went on to talk about common things in everyday life. However as he was talking through the almost nothing, but just everyday trivial, there was supreme spiritual to be grasped. The listeners have to be capable to understand it was something in Suzuki’s nothingness speech in order to learn the “Supreme Spiritual ideal”.Lecture on Nothing too. Cage’s lecture also reminded me when the Buddhist monks holding and repeatedly going through a bead chain in one hand and chanting the phase 南無阿彌陀佛 (the pronunciation in English is Namo a mi tuo fo)[2]. The chanting going no where but the chanter sitting still and patiently repeat the same phrase over and over again.
And, this is reflected in Cage’s

I also recognise that there is a connection between 2001 Tuner prize winner Martin Creed’s work about nothingness and Cage’s nothingness. Creed made these comments on his 1993 Blu-Tack-piece:

“I was taken with the idea of using the sticky substance, but had nothing to actually put up with it - so I just displayed the Blu-Tack. (…) I have nothing in particular to say. (...) I find it a lot easier if it [the work] negates itself at the same time as pushing itself forward--so there's an equal positive and negative which adds up to nothing, but at the same time is something too."

Odawa is a three piece band features Martin Creed (guitar, voice), Keiko Owada (bass, voice) and Adam Mcewen (drums). They produced their debut CD album Nothing which contains 23 tracks representative of their live set. It is said that Nothing “long on songs and short on shit. (…) without using too many notes and with hardly any superfluous words, Owada break music down and build it up to make funny and straight, sad and happy songs. The album has its low and its high, and through thick and thin, big songs and small, it takes the rough with the smooth heavy-handedly and with a lightness of touch.” I think I am going no where without ending my text with the lyrics of these 23 tracks in their album:

hello (0:45)

hello
hello
hello
hello
hello
hello
hello
hello

1234 (0:15)

one two three four
one two three four
one two three four
one two three four
one two three four

thirty thirty (2:20)

one two three four five six seven
eight nine ten eleven twelve thir-
teen fourteen fifteen sixteen se-
venteen eighteen nineteen twenty
twenty-one twenty-two twenty-
three twenty-four twenty-five twen-
ty-six twenty-seven twenty-
eight twenty-nine thirty thirty

three four eight nine leven twelve thir
one twen three twen twenty-five twen
twenty eight twen thirty thirty
teen fif venteen nineteen twenty

one twen three twen twenty-five twen
three four eight nine leven twelve thir
teen fif venteen nineteen twenty
twenty eight
twen thirty thirty

one two three four five six seven
eight nine ten eleven twelve thir-
teen fourteen fifteen sixteen se-
venteen eighteen nineteen twenty
twenty-one twenty-two twenty-
three twenty-four twenty-five twen-
ty-six twenty-seven twenty-
eight twenty-nine thirty thirty

the new instrumental one (1:53)

no words

short g (0:08)

feeling blue (3:02)

I'm feeling low
I'm feeling down
I'm feeling blue
I'm feeling brown

I'm feeling orange
I'm feeling green
I'm feeling purple
I'm feeling cream

I'm feeling scarlet
I'm feeling loose
I'm feeling maroon
I'm feeling puce

I'm feeling black
I'm feeling dead
I'm feeling yellow
I'm feeling red

I'm feeling pink
I'm feeling light
I'm feeling buff
I'm feeling white

I'm feeling up
I'm feeling bright
I'm feeling clear
I'm feeling alright

I'm feeling off-white
I'm feeling grey
I'm feeling mixed-up
I'm feeling okay

up + down (0:48)

short g (0:05)

not yours (4:38)

and here and there and when
here and there and when and

and where and now and then
where and now and then and

not mine not yours not ours
mine not yours not ours not

not theirs not always not never
theirs not always not never not

but who but what but how
who but what but how but

but why but yes but no
why but yes but no but

or me or you or us
me or you or us or

or them or all or none
them or all or none or

up yours up mine up ours
yours up mine up ours up

up theirs up now up then
theirs up now up then up

circle (2:45)

Stephen Willats thought that
Art & Language were ripping him off
Art & Language thought that
Joseph Kosuth was ripping them off
Joseth Kosuth thought that
Lawrence Wiener was ripping him off
on a recent trip to London
Lawrence Wiener saw a show by Stephen Willats
he said
fuck me this guy's ripping me off

30 seconds with the lights off (0:31)

black rectangle

1-100 (1:22)

one
two
three
four
five
six
seven
eight
nine
ten
eleven
twelve
thirteen
fourteen
fifteen
sixteen
seventeen
eighteen
nineteen
twenty
twenty-one
twenty-two
twenty-three
twenty-four
twenty-five
twenty-six
twenty-seven
twenty-eight
twenty-nine
thirty
thirty-one
thirty-two
thirty-three
thirty-four
thirty-five
thirty-six
thirty-seven
thirty-eight
thirty-nine
forty
forty-one
forty-two
forty-three
forty-four
forty-five
forty-six
forty-seven
forty-eight
forty-nine
fifty
fifty-one
fifty-two
fifty-three
fifty-four
fifty-five
fifty-six
fifty-seven
fifty-eight
fifty-nine
sixty
sixty-one
sixty-two
sixty-three
sixty-four
sixty-five
sixty-six
sixty-seven
sixty-eight
sixty-nine
seventy
seventy-one
seventy-two
seventy-three
seventy-four
seventy-five
seventy-six
seventy-seven
seventy-eight
seventy-nine
eighty
eighty-one
eighty-two
eighty-three
eighty-four
eighty-five
eighty-six
eighty-seven
eighty-eight
eighty-nine
ninety
ninety-one
ninety-two
ninety-three
ninety-four
ninety-five
ninety-six
ninety-seven
ninety-eight
ninety-nine
one hundred

short g (0:06)

101-200 (1:25)

one hundred and one
one hundred and two
one hundred and three
one hundred and four
one hundred and five
one hundred and six
one hundred and seven
one hundred and eight
one hundred and nine
one hundred and ten
one hundred and eleven
one hundred and twelve
one hundred and thirteen
one hundred and fourteen
one hundred and fifteen
one hundred and sixteen
one hundred and seventeen
one hundred and eighteen
one hundred and nineteen
one hundred and twenty
one hundred and twenty-one
one hundred and twenty-two
one hundred and twenty-three
one hundred and twenty-four
one hundred and twenty-five
one hundred and twenty-six
one hundred and twenty-seven
one hundred and twenty-eight
one hundred and twenty-nine
one hundred and thirty
one hundred and thirty-one
one hundred and thirty-two
one hundred and thirty-three
one hundred and thirty-four
one hundred and thirty-five
one hundred and thirty-six
one hundred and thirty-seven
one hundred and thirty-eight
one hundred and thirty-nine
one hundred and forty
one hundred and forty-one
one hundred and forty-two
one hundred and forty-three
one hundred and forty-four
one hundred and forty-five
one hundred and forty-six
one hundred and forty-seven
one hundred and forty-eight
one hundred and forty-nine
one hundred and fifty
one hundred and fifty-one
one hundred and fifty-two
one hundred and fifty-three
one hundred and fifty-four
one hundred and fifty-five
one hundred and fifty-six
one hundred and fifty-seven
one hundred and fifty-eight
one hundred and fifty-nine
one hundred and sixty
one hundred and sixty-one
one hundred and sixty-two
one hundred and sixty-three
one hundred and sixty-four
one hundred and sixty-five
one hundred and sixty-six
one hundred and sixty-seven
one hundred and sixty-eight
one hundred and sixty-nine
one hundred and seventy
one hundred and seventy-one
one hundred and seventy-two
one hundred and seventy-three
one hundred and seventy-four
one hundred and seventy-five
one hundred and seventy-six
one hundred and seventy-seven
one hundred and seventy-eight
one hundred and seventy-nine
one hundred and eighty
one hundred and eighty-one
one hundred and eighty-two
one hundred and eighty-three
one hundred and eighty-four
one hundred and eighty-five
one hundred and eighty-six
one hundred and eighty-seven
one hundred and eighty-eight
one hundred and eighty-nine
one hundred and ninety
one hundred and ninety-one
one hundred and ninety-two
one hundred and ninety-three
one hundred and ninety-four
one hundred and ninety-five
one hundred and ninety-six
one hundred and ninety-seven
one hundred and ninety-eight
one hundred and ninety-nine
two hundred

low (0:29)

high (0:30)

long g (1:31)

one whole song (2:20)

one whole to go
seven eighths to go
three quarters to go
five eighths to go
one half to go
three eighths to go
one quarter to go
one eighth to go
nothing to go

x (2:50)

a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
l
m
n
o
p
q
r
s
t
u
v
w
x
y
z

the usual first one (1:45)

1234 (0:14)

one two three four
one two three four
one two three four
one two three four
one two three four

nothing (5:01)

nothing
nothing
nothing
nothing
nothing
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[1] Suzuki, Daisetz Teitaro (edited by Christmas Humphreys). "The Awakening of Zen (Shambala Dragon Edition)." Ed. Christmas Humphreys Shambala, 1980. Page107-112

[2] The phrase literally "mindfulness of the Buddha" is a term commonly seen in the Pure Land school of Mahayana Buddhism. It refers to praise offered to Amitabha Buddha as a devotional act. The original Sanskrit phrase was Namo Amitabha Buddha, which can mean either "I entrust in the Buddha of Immeasurable Light and Eternal Life" or simply "Hail to the Buddha of Immeasurable Light and Eternal Life".


Welcome to the ground

Thank you for stopping over. The Ground We Share evolves from my research study where I make a comparative study between the concepts of the everyday in art practice and Zen.

My art practice may be seen as the result of my interest on the matters of the everyday and Eastern thoughts. Over the years, I have produced a body of cross-disciplinary work that explores the as-it-is-ness of things, and interconnectedness between objects and people. My own cultural background and life experience are often revisited, examined and evidenced in the work within this journey of exploration.

In Zen tradition, mindfulness to everyday trivial is important in their spiritual pratice, my research relates this notion of attentiveness from my work to this tradition. Historically, many important twentieth century artists and art groups who expanded Duchamp’s theory of the ready-made and the everyday were also influenced by Zen teaching from D.T. Suzuki and Shunryu Suzuki that can also be related to this research.

In contrast to the Western sociological perspective on the study of the everyday from important thinkers like Henri Lefebvre and Michel de Certeau; I look at it from a different perspective - through the prism of a contemporary artist that comes from an Eastern background.

This blog provides a space to share my activities and information arising from my work and research. You are welcome to be part of this interconnection by posting your valuable experience, thoughts and comments.