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Graphic Design

Yi Chen

about-Yi Chen

My name is Yi Chen (陈怡）and I am based in Hangzhou, China. I am a graphic designer who is interested in the areas of language, writing, and self-thinking.

I was not a person who liked to read before, but at the age of 24, I started reading more extensively. In the process of reading, in addition to my happy reading experiences, I also experienced some painful (difficult), and boring reading experiences.

This led me to think; what’s the difference between them? How can I turn the process of reading into an enjoyable one? How do I view the original author’s ideas while reading the text? How can I help myself express and stimulate ideas in the process of reading? This is the work which emerged. Please feel free to join my journey.

Show Location: Battersea campus: Studio Building, First Floor

Yi Chen-statement

This project takes the form of:

-relooking at the reading process

-finding the reader’s voice through reading

-exploring the infinity of writing

This project considers:

-the loop of reading, translating, writing 

-the loop of reader, translator, writer

-the loop of absorbing, self-thinking, expressing 

-the loop of depth, mutability, and intuition.

The project takes an everyday subject (reading and writing). However, oftentimes, the more common things are, the easier it is to overlook and forget them, so that the benefits of the ability to read and write will be lost.

I want to record my journey of reading to allow those who are in the situation of forgetting the pleasure of reading, or not knowing how to think for themselves, as well as not realising the infinity of writing. I want people to first perceive and then regain their inherent abilities; making the reading, learning, thinking, and writing process an interesting adventure.

How do we view the process of reading? And who does reading serve?
How do we view the process of reading? And who does reading serve?
1
1 – Recording what I saw and what I thought when I first read 'why I write'
What I read (the original text)
What I read (the original text)
What I see
What I see

We all have an innate ability to filter information - we naturally filter out topics and knowledge that interest us in the process of reading.

2
2
Visualizing the process of copying the following sentence, by Walter Benjamin, "Fill the lacunae of inspiration by tidily copying out what is already written. Intuition will awaken in the process." I
Visualizing the process of copying the following sentence, by Walter Benjamin, "Fill the lacunae of inspiration by tidily copying out what is already written. Intuition will awaken in the process." I have done this through digital copying and handwriting.
Loop: About Copying/Self-Learning, media item 1
Loop: About Copying/Self-Learning, media item 1
Loop: About Copying/Self-Learning, media item 1
Loop: About Copying/Self-Learning, media item 1



What I think about copying

Recording what I have learned and what I have reflected on in the process of copying and thinking, over and over again.

Medium:

video

Size:

00:02:56
writing-01
writing-01
writing-02
writing-02
writing-03
writing-03
writing-04
writing-04
writing-05
writing-05
writing-06
writing-06
writing-07
writing-07
my writing-08
my writing-08

(my reflections on the process of reading 'Why I Write' by Joan Didion)

Writing can be in the form of diaries, essays, poems, notes, annotations, drawings, questions...


3
3 – What I understood by 'copying', I re-read 'Why I Write' by Joan Didion.
new text
new text – I broke up the paragraphs of the text itself and focused on topics and words that interested me.
eg.1- my reflection of the new text
eg.1- my reflection of the new text
A new life was given to them when new texts were put together.
A new life was given to them when new texts were put together.
eg.2- my reflection of the new text
eg.2- my reflection of the new text
Loop: About Reading, publishing/ sound recording
eg.3- my reflections on the new text
eg.3- my reflections on the new text
What does the relooking process looks like?
Launch Project
What does the relooking process looks like?

Medium:

publishing/ sound recording
4
4
5
5
Loop: About Reading, Copying and Writing, publishing
Loop: About Reading, Copying and Writing, publishing
the structure of the inner page
the structure of the inner page
The book can be viewed from the front or from the back.
The book can be viewed from the front or from the back. – Viewing from the front to the back, the section of my information filter. Viewed in reverse order is my inspiration from the information filter. The inside of the open page shows the original text.

From reading, to copying, from copying, to writing, from writing, to reading...

From absorbing, to self-thinking, from self-thinking, to expressing, from expressing, to absorbing...

From reader, to translator, from translator, to writer, from writer, to reader...

Medium:

publishing

Size:

193*257mm
The Original Author is Dead. The New Author is Born, media item 1
The Original Author is Dead. The New Author is Born, media item 1
Launch Project
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Royal College of Art

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Kensington Gore, South Kensington,
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