Understand/ Understood

2014, DordtYart Art Center, Dordrecht, Netherlands
Performance, Video
Materials: Paper, Ink, water and water tank

The artist was writing in Chinese and in English everyday during her residency at DordtYart, Netherlands. The texts of Chinese are from Analects of Confucius, which has substantial influence on Taiwanese thought and values. English texts are from the textbooks at middle and high school in Taiwan.
Chinese was written in the natural way, right side up, as it is written to the artist herself. English was written upside down, as to the viewers opposite to the artist.
For Lulu Meng, her native culture is familiar and natural. In contrast, English is necessary knowledge to learn in order to understand the unfamiliar cultures and people, to communicate and to present herself to be understood.
Rectangular papers are put in the tanks. Two stacks of paper in circular shape are gradually formed, just as people are getting rounded through time. Words get blurry as ink dissolves in water. In the end, when water dries out, single papers will all stick together and can never be separated.