Too Long Ago, Not Far
2024 | 13' | 4K, Super8 transferred to digital | Chinese (Cantonese) & English | Two-channel Video
When I first took up this Super 8 camera, I knew I was about to leave my home. Too Long Ago, Not Far, alludes to the Huaying Tongyu [華英通語, meaning: interchangeable expressions between Chinese and English, first published in 1867 in New York], the earliest English textbook for Chinese people that uses Cantonese phonetic notation to teach the pronunciation of English words. The four corners represents the original English (top left) and direct Chinese translation (bottom left), the Chinese phonetic notation (bottom right) and literal English translation of the notation (top right) propose another layer of object connections and entry points to word memorisation in the old days. Chinese character is a hieroglyph and Cantonese contains an almost lyrical phonology. This seamless editing mode offers me the base to record everything in the city as notations, things that I want to look at over and over again, just like opening an emergency dictionary in my pocket in an aimless survival mode.
Please click here for a detailed writing.