手語石頭
Sign-Language Stones
2025
油墨、泰國桑皮紙
Ink on Saa paper, rug
Dimensions variable
油墨、泰國桑皮紙
Ink on Saa paper, rug
Dimensions variable
疊石似乎是個跨文化、跨地域的人類共通活動，從花蓮的海邊、熊本的神社、到叻丕府的洞窟，都有人們留下的疊石。我並不真的在乎背後的動機是紀念、祈願，或只是單純進行類似冥想的平衡遊戲，真正牽引我的，是這個行為幾乎可說是人類先驗的本能，它標誌出了人的活動痕跡，在自然中遺留下的、手的痕跡。
我並不會說泰文，雖然在這裡的幾個月時間也漸漸學到了些許，但很多時候在斷簡殘編的語言中，手勢常常是不可或缺的肢體語言。寺廟的遺跡中，充滿了零散而不完整的佛像，他們的手勢、手印，也像是祈願的斷簡殘編，意義卻意外地連貫，可以只從兩根手指的輪廓理解一雙手的語意。
我將佛像們的手勢，雕刻成一塊塊的石頭浮雕，印刷後再將這些平面的的紙張，用摺紙的方式摺成幾何狀的石塊。它們比真正的石塊輕得多，疊起時更依賴著幾何的角度與平衡而非重力，走動的動作如果大到造成空氣震動，就會造成石堆垮掉。經歷萬分嚴肅、大氣都不敢喘一口的堆疊後，結果卻是一坨坍塌的紙團。反覆中總是覺得好笑，一個為自己而進行的遊戲，最終在手語中散開成莫衷一是的語境。
Stone stacking seems to be a cross-cultural, transregional human activity. From the coastlines of Hualien, to shrines in Kumamoto, to caves in Ratchaburi, traces of stacked stones can be found wherever people have passed. I am not particularly concerned with the motivations behind these acts—whether they serve as memorials, prayers, or simply a meditative exercise in balance. What truly draws me in is how this gesture can almost be described as a priori to human behavior: it marks the trace of human presence, the imprint of the hand left behind in nature.
I do not speak Thai. Although I have gradually picked up fragments of the language over these months, gestures often become an indispensable form of communication amid such incomplete exchanges. Within the ruins of temples, scattered and fragmented Buddha figures abound. Their hand gestures and mudras resemble broken passages of prayer—partial and incomplete, yet unexpectedly coherent. Sometimes, the meaning of a hand can be understood through the contour of just two fingers.
I carved these gestures of the Buddha figures into individual stone reliefs, printed them, and then folded the flat sheets of paper into geometric stone-like forms. They are far lighter than actual stones, and when stacked, they rely more on angles and balance than on weight or gravity. A movement as small as walking nearby—enough to disturb the air—can cause the stack to collapse. After an intensely serious process of stacking, holding one’s breath almost to excess, the result is often nothing more than a heap of fallen paper. In this repetition, I cannot help but find humor: a game carried out for myself alone, ultimately unfolding through hand language into a context of irreconcilable meanings.
我並不會說泰文，雖然在這裡的幾個月時間也漸漸學到了些許，但很多時候在斷簡殘編的語言中，手勢常常是不可或缺的肢體語言。寺廟的遺跡中，充滿了零散而不完整的佛像，他們的手勢、手印，也像是祈願的斷簡殘編，意義卻意外地連貫，可以只從兩根手指的輪廓理解一雙手的語意。
我將佛像們的手勢，雕刻成一塊塊的石頭浮雕，印刷後再將這些平面的的紙張，用摺紙的方式摺成幾何狀的石塊。它們比真正的石塊輕得多，疊起時更依賴著幾何的角度與平衡而非重力，走動的動作如果大到造成空氣震動，就會造成石堆垮掉。經歷萬分嚴肅、大氣都不敢喘一口的堆疊後，結果卻是一坨坍塌的紙團。反覆中總是覺得好笑，一個為自己而進行的遊戲，最終在手語中散開成莫衷一是的語境。
Stone stacking seems to be a cross-cultural, transregional human activity. From the coastlines of Hualien, to shrines in Kumamoto, to caves in Ratchaburi, traces of stacked stones can be found wherever people have passed. I am not particularly concerned with the motivations behind these acts—whether they serve as memorials, prayers, or simply a meditative exercise in balance. What truly draws me in is how this gesture can almost be described as a priori to human behavior: it marks the trace of human presence, the imprint of the hand left behind in nature.
I do not speak Thai. Although I have gradually picked up fragments of the language over these months, gestures often become an indispensable form of communication amid such incomplete exchanges. Within the ruins of temples, scattered and fragmented Buddha figures abound. Their hand gestures and mudras resemble broken passages of prayer—partial and incomplete, yet unexpectedly coherent. Sometimes, the meaning of a hand can be understood through the contour of just two fingers.
I carved these gestures of the Buddha figures into individual stone reliefs, printed them, and then folded the flat sheets of paper into geometric stone-like forms. They are far lighter than actual stones, and when stacked, they rely more on angles and balance than on weight or gravity. A movement as small as walking nearby—enough to disturb the air—can cause the stack to collapse. After an intensely serious process of stacking, holding one’s breath almost to excess, the result is often nothing more than a heap of fallen paper. In this repetition, I cannot help but find humor: a game carried out for myself alone, ultimately unfolding through hand language into a context of irreconcilable meanings.
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© 2016 - 2026 劉書妤 Shu-yu Liu