Mothertongue

Emotional Geometry is a body of work informed by Chinese philosophy, medicine and healing. In this series of photographs and sculptures, I visualise the energy meridians of the body as a form of armour. This series incorporates crystals and plants for their healing and protective properties, and Buddhist mudras invoking ritual gestures of the body.

In Mothertongue, my body is draped in a veil of protective armour made of interlinked gold chains and medicinal herbs. In traditional Chinese medicine, the woody root of the astragalus plant is used as a tonic to fortify the immune system. Since I was a child, my mother has used this herb in healing soups she prepares for our family. In thinking of the transmission of culture through her knowledge of medicine and food, I also became interested in the symbol of the ‘mother tongue’ as a person’s first language, or arterial language, which I liken to a language of the blood.