Academic Studies
Entangled Narratives within the Perception of Emptiness — Reading the Contexts of Jo Hsieh’s Work ｜ / Professor Wen–yung, Huang
Entangled Narratives within the Perception of Emptiness
－Reading the Contexts of Jo Hsieh’s Work
－Wen–yung, Huang
Art resembles a brilliant beam of light that attracts countless souls. The fervour and dedication to art are not merely pursuits of beauty but inquiries into the meaning of life. In the pursuit of art, we do not only view works; we also apprehend the labour underlying creation and experience a resonance that transcends time and space.
Those who are ardent in their pursuit of art invariably expend their whole being in an attempt to transcend the boundaries of desire.
The essence of art lies in its distinctive expression of emotion and thought. Artworks frequently transcend the limits of language, directly engaging the viewer’s sensibilities and eliciting profound emotional resonance.
To seek the truth and spirit of art, Jo Hsieh travelled to the United Kingdom in 1991 at the age of twenty-four and engaged in sustained self-reflection. Professor Amanda titled the subject of her research “Non-Space.”
“Non-Space”
The concept of “Non-Space” originates in a deep meditation on space (a non-space). It encompasses the notion of physical space but extends to the realm of mind and existence, articulating a mode of being that surpasses conventional physical spatiality.
From a Philosophical Perspective
“Non-Space” may be regarded as an inquiry into the boundary between reality and nothingness. Within philosophy, space functions as a fundamental framework for physical being, the interaction of objects, and human perception.
Aristotle’s account of space emphasises its concreteness: space is the condition for the presence of objects, and it is only where an object exists that one can meaningfully speak of space.
However, over time—and particularly within modern philosophy—thinkers such as Martin Heidegger began to question traditional definitions of space. Heidegger stressed the ontology of Being and proposed that “nothingness” itself has a primordial character. In this respect, “Non-Space” can be construed as a mode of existence or as a profound reflection on “Being.” “Non-Space” may be interpreted as an inner potentiality denoting the state antecedent to the formation of anything.
From the Buddhist Perspective
Buddhist thought offers a deeper reading of the concept of “Non-Space.” It understands this not merely as “nothing” or “void,” but as a transcendent mode of being that enables one to detach from clinging and to realise genuine ease and freedom.
“Non-Space” is closely related to the Buddhist notion of śūnyatā (emptiness). In Buddhist teaching, “emptiness” is not nihilistic; rather, it reveals a profound ontological truth: all phenomena lack inherent self-nature and are impermanent. “Emptiness” denotes the essential character of phenomena, wherein everything is in constant flux and nothing possesses a fixed self.
When we transcend attachment to materiality, we apprehend the fundamental nature of the cosmos—namely, the emptiness of being. This emptiness constitutes a liberative wisdom that guides us away from affliction and suffering. “Non-Space” can thus be regarded as a mode of “no-self,” emphasising the transcendence of cognitive constraints and the acceptance of existence's flux.
In everyday life, “Non-Space” may also be understood as a form of inner spiritual blankness. Through the repetitive labours of life and the purification of the mind, one can experience a state of unimpeded openness. In such a state, the mind is no longer bound by past experiences or future anxieties; it becomes tranquil like still water, achieving a form of inner calm. This inner serenity may be described—perhaps more abstractly—as “Non-Space.”
“Non-Space” is therefore both an abstract philosophical concept and a pragmatic way of life. When creating, one may enter a state of “flow,” plunging into a forgotten space, whereby one finds harmony and dialogue between self and inner life amidst the complexity of the world.
Jo Hsieh — Printmaking Artworks
https://www.johsiehfoundation.com/artwork?id=12
Jo Hsieh — Printmaking Series IV
https://www.johsiehfoundation.com/space/47
Jo Hsieh — Fleeting Light: Photographic Etching Prints
https://www.johsiehfoundation.com/space/12
Jo Hsieh enacts a movement of the psyche (a subversion)—disrupting conventional frames of aesthetics. She draws on Kandinsky’s emphasis on the dynamism of the point; she experiments with point, line, and plane, and explores affect through the potentialities of line and plane as metaphors for space.
The emotive metaphors of colour permeate a diverse corpus of sketches, notebooks, literature, paintings, and prints…
Reading Jo Hsieh’s oeuvre is like observing a constellation scattered across the night sky—at once resplendent and profound.
“Entangled Narratives within the Perception of Emptiness”
“Kongjian” (the perception of emptiness) is a profound and pivotal concept in Buddhist thought, arising from an inquiry into the fundamental nature of phenomena. Its central import is the revelation that all dharmas are devoid of inherent self-nature—i.e., emptiness. “Form is emptiness, emptiness is form.”
This notion of “emptiness” is not tantamount to nothingness; on the contrary, it manifests relationality and interdependence, emphasising that all existence is a product of contingent composition. There are no eternal, immutable substances and no fixed essences constrained by conceptual frames.
Within the perception of emptiness, whether in physical space or the realm of mind, there exists an entangled network of narratives that is pervasive yet elusive, akin to the air itself.
These narratives, like molecules suspended in the air—silent and invisible—nonetheless exert a profound influence on behaviour and thought. Through storytelling, memory, and dialogue, one weaves personal experience into small cosmologies.
“Entangled narrative” denotes a complex narrative strategy that transcends traditional linear temporality and unitary causality. It encompasses non-linear narration, multilayered accounts, self-referentiality, and repetitive narrative structures.
Non-linear Narration:
Events are not presented in chronological order, nor do narratives necessarily adhere to direct causal sequences. Common techniques include flashback, prolepsis, parallel montage, multiple perspectives, and fractured timelines. Such approaches generate tension, highlight specific themes, and encourage viewers to actively reconstruct narrative threads, thereby attaining a more nuanced, multifaceted understanding.
Multilayered Narration:
Literary narratives often contain multiple strata of discourse, wherein the perspectives of narrators at different levels interrelate to form a coherent whole. Through plot development, thematic exploration, and the portrayal of characters’ affective states, a work manifests depth. By shifting vantage points among characters, it discloses diverse experiences of the same event and thus enriches the text’s stratification.
Self-referentiality:
This refers to phenomena in which a sentence, concept, image, or system points to itself (metaphorically). When the mind reflects upon its own condition and existence, such reflection constitutes a deeper form of self-referentiality. The notion of self-reference appears across disciplines, characterised fundamentally by an object, concept, or statement making direct or indirect reference to itself.
Repetitive Narration:
The relationship between art and its intended truth should be one of “repetition” rather than “representation.” “Repetition” pertains to the act of creation and stands in contrast to rule-bound reproduction; it is a direct expression of truth that does not pass through any mediatory artifact. In the pure exploration of “repetition,” one seeks the creation of difference—an approach that serves as a methodological entry point into the essential questions of art.
“Entangled narrative” denotes the invisible filaments that weave disparate experiences and affects together into a multidimensional network. It is a principal mode of presenting affect and, within the interlacing of time and space, reveals complex entanglements that allow us not only to apprehend another’s story but to find resonance and consonance within reciprocal accounts.
Jo Hsieh’s work engages multiple perspectives and approaches, integrating affect and lived experience so that each fragment may be entwined into a coherent and profound narrative. Viewers thereby perceive spatial expansiveness and the passage of time within the pictorial signification.
Interpreting Jo Hsieh’s practice through the lens of “entangled narratives within the perception of emptiness” involves not only quotidian interactions and exchanges but also reflects her profound literary (poetic) dimensions and her apprehension of Zen. Thus, it expands our understanding and cognition of narrativity.
By shaping thought and situation through narrative languages (pictorial realms) from differing vantage points, the emotions and ideas entwined within the perception of emptiness become vivid and authentic. Through the interpenetration of void and reality, the complexity and contradictions of human thought are revealed, enabling viewers to sense the profound affective and philosophical substrata beneath ostensibly plain narratives.
Within such interlaced narratives, one does not merely produce an autobiographical textual frame; one also touches the deep expressions of life, affect, and thought, finding dialogical encounters with the self within the contemplative (introspective) world.
Entering a state of “flow.”
Immersing into a forgotten perception of emptiness.
“Entangled narratives within the perception of emptiness” manifest in the flow of time by weaving past experience, present affect, and future expectation into synchronous (parallel) spatialities, producing delicate “shadowed-and-illuminated landscapes.”
“Shadowed-and-illuminated” carries rich and profound connotations: it denotes not only simple gradations of light and dark but also a philosophical reflection on life, time, space, and the very ground of existence.
