Gui Painting

There are many customs and rituals that are participated in because of the precedents others have set. The Mongolian custom of shaking someone’s hand if you step on their foot is an example I often give. This custom can be seen commonly practiced by everyone in Mongolia regardless of whether they are complete strangers or not. Initially, when such rituals were first practiced or created I imagine there must have been a more apparent, explicit reasoning for them [you do A because of B], but as these rituals and customs traverse time the reasons become less apparent; you shake hands when you step on someone’s foot but the why isn’t explained, you just do it because it's common custom and etiquette. The same can be said for many aspects of language. How the forms of different letters, words, phrases, sounds came to be are all questions that drive my work. Then how these different aspects of language are related to symbol/symbolism and can be visualized is what manifests in my paintings. I paint words and translations to display how disparate symbols can mean the same thing, represent the same image. A letter can be painted a million different ways but still be recognizable as something familiar. In the end, words can still be made. But what happens when the symbols presented are not ones in your present visual vocabulary? I paint and try to visualize how things like language can connect people but also create barriers.