Joy Tseng (RuoYi Li)

My research intersects psychology, philosophy, theology, and quantum mechanics. It discusses the essence of the soul and the mechanism of reincarnation. It has broken my prejudice against theology and my dependence on modern science. It has enabled me to question the absoluteness of materialism and has demonstrated the operation of consciousness and soul at the core of a human being. It has drawn me out of the darkness in my life.

My medium is animation, combining a narrative sequence with a musical score. A concrete plot helps me to better interpret an abstract concept. Animated movement always implies the motivation behind it and embodies the philosophical values I want to convey.

In the animation ‘Ripple’ I discuss oneness, which dispels our illusion of separation and reintroduces us to the inseparability of our relationships. Using the refraction of light in a prism as a metaphor, I tell a story about forgiveness and describe the process of how we form each other in our collective memory.

My process of learning oneness happens in the context of the New River, a 409 year-old artificial river in Islington, used to provide clean drinking water to Londoners since the 16th century. Parts one and two of the animation tell stories derived from the river’s history. Parts three and four tell stories derived from my experience of walking along the river.

The animation is structured as a dream, with the four layers of the dream dividing it into four parts. As the dream goes deeper, the understanding of oneness becomes clearer.

Ripple - JoyTseng (Rouyi Li) 2022

I fell asleep at my desk while I was researching New River. I dreamt. I saw New River and its father. It was a beautiful memory and at that moment New River was born.

I thought I was awake, maybe I was not. I sat with New River in the dark. It showed me another memory fragment from 1991. That made me angry.

New River took me back to that memory we had shared in a very magical way. I realized that many things were not as I thought they were.

Then I woke? Or did I? Digesting this exhilarating experience, I can feel many things are changing, or is it just me?

Now, I wake up.

My perspective

My friend's perspective

Gardener Lee's perspective

New River's perspective

We see the world through a filter with a colour unique to each of us, giving the persistent illusion of separation from others.

Red light and green light belong to the bright. Left hand and right hand belong to me. And you and I belong to the one. Tolerance from oneness is the deepest and warmest, just like a gentle river.

I used to be limited by my filter colour. I was angry with those who do not cherish the New River. I believed a hero should not be treated in this way. However, as my relationship with the river developed, I found the limitation of my vision. I was touched by the river’s deep tolerance for all people. This acceptance and love taught me about oneness and broke down the illusion of separation from my perspective. My animation shows the entire process.

Memory fragments

The text corresponds to the above picture. Reading order: left to right and top to bottom.

Joy Tseng (RuoYi Li)

Social

About

Royal College of Art