間 “Ma”
Artist
The Chinese Hànzì and Japanese Kanji ideogram 間 “Ma” refers to the concept of “the space between,” and is identical in written form and concept in both cultures. As an ideogram and concept, “Ma” encompasses both physical spaces and liminal states of “in between.”
As a multi-generational Chinese-Canadian, I’ve continuously navigated dual worlds, one of which is determined by the loss of language and finds expression through nuances, gaps, gestures and code. It’s within this “space between” that I find true comfort, as this interval has significantly shaped my identity and creative output.
The core of “Ma” embodies an unspoken understanding—the profound links possible within the space between sights, sounds, gestures and moments.
Janice Mar Wong is a multi-disciplinary visual artist whose mediums include painting, printmaking, drawing, photography and ceramics. Janice studied Fine Art at the University of Saskatchewan, and received her BFA with Distinction, Honours Painting, from the Alberta University of the Arts.
In addition to her studio work, Janice is the award-winning author of the culinary memoir and history book, Chow. Janice’s family roots trace back through British Columbia history to the mid-1800’s. Born in Saskatchewan, she has resided in Vancouver since 1986.
Janice Mar Wong
Compose around the relationships and rhythms between objects.
Invitation
Select five objects: these could be items you treasure, or objects you might pick up during a stroll. Set the objects in a quiet space, on a clear table for example, against a wall, away from all other visual distractions.
Spend some time regarding the objects and the space that they occupy. Consider how the objects gather new meanings or new relationships as you bring them closer together or farther apart. Consider how the space shifts in relationship to those changes. Look at them from all possible angles, stand on a chair and view from above; crouch down from a child's eye level, etc. Consider your physical self in relation to what you're seeing.
Think of this as an exercise in the pleasure of forms and placement, a visual thought process. You’re creating compositions much the same way that an artist does while painting, taking elements and shifting them, pairing them, blending them, creating new juxtapositions, until everything feels just right. In visual composition, the space is as important as the objects.
As you consider these still-life compositions, keep an awareness of rhythms and relationships, the “companionship” between objects, whether new patterns, relationships or forms come about.
Make some notes, either words or sketches, as you consider aspects of pleasure: the pleasure of spending time, contemplating a favourite object in a new way, and how you felt about this visual, tactile exercise. Keep an awareness of what you think “feels right” and why. Then, consider how you can bring this new awareness of space and interrelationships into your everyday life, a shift in awareness that might move to a wider sphere, as you consider sights, sounds, gestures and moments between the people and things that embody our world.