Chang Yuchen / Coral Dictionary Vol.1: 2019-2022

This is a collection of works by Chang Yuchen, a Chinese-born artist currently based in New York, USA. The book, which literally translates to “Coral Dictionary” in Japanese, is an ongoing project that the artist has been working on since 2019, in which he constructs a Malay writing system from pieces of coral he discovered and collected during his stay on Dinawan Island in Malaysia. Malay does not have its own writing system, and throughout history it has adapted by clinging to various foreign alphabets, from Arabic to Roman. Chang’s process of matching coral with words is a performative act of translation. By interpreting his collection of corals pictorially, metaphorically, and emotionally, and organizing his interpretations into a classification system, the artist becomes a medium for two “incomplete” entities, coral and Malay, breathing new life into both. Each painted coral features text drawn from a bidirectional Chinese-Malay dictionary that Chan encountered during her stay in four languages: English, Chinese, Malay, and the language of Chan's own painted coral. Coral Dictionary is a poetic work that explores the nature of language and the language of nature, reflecting the artist's commitment to a life's work that we call "understanding" that runs throughout her multifaceted practice.
 Publisher: GONG PRESS
 Publication year: 2022
 Number of pages: 258
 Size: 130x 65mm
 Format: Softcover
 Language: English/Chinese/Malay
 Accessories:
 Condition: New