Dice x2
Hybrid interactive work
I have created a hybrid piece utilising both textiles and coding with which we can explore a different reality for the composition of Chinese characters. Drawing on a few characters which contain the woman radical [女] and a component which also has a standalone meaning, we can create new associations by swapping these components for other radicals. By using the format of Dice, I have incorporated the element of chance/possibility into our use of language to communicate our outlooks. For example, we may have been assigned as female [女] or male [亻] at birth. But there could also be other ways of thinking about association, such as child [子]，heart [心] , people [从], animal [犬].
Currently, using these dice, only the woman radical [女] forms existing characters with all of the components. The purpose of this is to demonstrate the sexist nature in which the radical is treated. Most commonly, the woman radical [女] is used as labels in society e.g. mother, good, female you. But, they also occur often in derogatory terms such as fuck, prostitute, whore for which there are no equivalents containing the person/male radical [亻]. However, the components on their own have neutral meanings: child, you, horse, rear, watch, ticket. Now, imagine combining these characters with the other radicals to form new characters and give them our own associations and meanings; would they still be coloured with the same demeaning tone that the woman radical [女] carries, or could they offer new directions based on the language we hope to use in society?
The p5.js sketch that accompanies this work is partly inspired by Hanzi maker, as part of The Future of Memory project by Qianqian Ye. In both cases, coding is used to re-imagine Chinese characters by placing the user in control. Through this use of technology, it becomes possible to design new characters and imbue them with meaning and symbolism, formed of unique connections known only to its creator. In a language system where the digital character output is pre-determined by the stored database of glyphs, this platform offers the flexibility of alphabet languages to evolve in parallel with our everchanging society.
*Officially, the character [从] and the radical [彳 ] do not translate to representing [people] in Chinese, however pictorially it is of 2 people walking and I have taken the liberty in this work to alter its standard usage to allow for an alternative intention. However, in standard usage, the character[从] means [lit. from] and the radical [彳 ] has the meaning [lit. step].
Special thanks to Tek and Victoria for helping me with the p5.js code! This is best viewed on desktop, not mobile devices.
2023