重启 Reset

published in the 190 issue of Life Magazine

「一颗蛋的保质期大致等于两米的间距

the shelf life

of an egg

roughly equals

the two metres*

between us」

* 'two metres' refers to the required distance to individuals in line for DAILY covid tests during lockdown)

This is the second poem I worked on in the project, but I'd had my eyes on this captivating photograph by 梅迪 among others when we were still in the brainstorming stage. I was instantly enchanted by the rippling reflections of the egg, which called to mind the four-character phrase (originated from a classical poem) 重峦叠嶂 (translit. overlapping mountains), like those you can see in a Chinese ink painting. I love the dimensions it created on the graphic surface, and knew right away how I'd like to arrange words and what shape they were taking.

The character 重 can refer to very different meanings when pronounced differently, and I love that in the writing of characters as they hold such potential & possibilities to be realised for various context and readings. 重 in the context of this poem (and later kept reoccuring through the project) works similarly to the prefix 're-' as in 're-set' and 're-peat'. To me, the visual overlapping of a single egg so powerfully reflects the monotonous and repetitive routine (some mandatory) during lockdown.