Gé zi (格子): Unfolding structures

This visual essay explores Chinese aesthetics through an expanded approach to painting, using the concept of the calligraphy grid, gé zi (格子), as a framework to investigate structure, ambiguity and the interplay between visible and invisible forms. It draws parallels between the active emptiness within calligraphy grids and the use of mist, Bó wù (薄霧), as a structural element in Chinese landscape. This structural ambiguity is reimagined in installations where wind and sunlight activate the work, revealing and concealing shadows. The use of folded calligraphy paper in landscape introduces natural forces as collaborators, creating a delicate yet structured interaction with the environment. The form of the visual essay is also considered an interactive, layered space in which the format and sequence suggests a reading of the paintings as code, or notation, in relation to the facing images of the installations. The movement of the wind in the installations is replaced by the turning or scrolling of the pages.