Drawing Breath

Abstract

This project describes and discusses the performance piece Drawing Breath (2022), which combined ethnographic research into traditional Chinese calligraphy with experimental art practices to produce a drawn visualization of breathing. It first identifies the ways in which breathing is related to the practice and appreciation of Chinese calligraphy, then discusses other aspects of traditional Chinese writing practice relevant to issues of movement and embodiment. Notions of qi (‘breath’ or ‘energy’) and its associated meditative and physical practices are related to calligraphic mark-making, and Chinese aesthetic theories regarding ‘force’ and ‘form’ are presented in the context of Daoist ontological models of immanence, polarity and interdependent opposites. The paper concludes by reflecting on issues of cross-cultural artistic interaction and cultural appropriation, arguing that contemporary western drawing practice, especially that exploring notions of movement, embodiment and performance, benefits greatly from engaging with non-western practices and ontologies.