NOTATIONS: RED SCALE
音譜 : 鱗動

Notations: Red Scale 音譜 ：鱗動 draws upon the endangered bridal laments of the 圍頭 (Waitau/Weitou) people — Hong Kong’s first settlers and Chan’s matrilineal ancestors. Traditionally performed by young women before their arranged marriages, these songs are acts of protest and mourning in the face of change. The ritual begins with the song Opening the Mouth 開口歌, which likens sunrise to red fish scales cracking open the eastern sky. Symbolising awakening, grief and transformation, this vivid image lies at the heart of the exhibition.

Through silk painting, calligraphy on xuan paper, and sculptural wall works, Chan explores the mouth as a vessel—a site of inheritance, rupture, and abundance. Lament lyrics are inscribed with traces of incense and soot, transforming writing into a form of notation. Her process becomes a performative calligraphy that evokes both ritual and embodiment.

The red scale functions as both a visual and conceptual motif. It gestures toward a quasi-musical notation system while echoing the fish imagery found in the lament. Fragile materials such as silk, ash, smoke, and xuan paper carry emotional and cultural weight. Burning the words onto these surfaces is an act of inscription and erasure. There is a careful balance between transcribing the lyric with flame and extinguishing the fire before it consumes the word. The process is wild yet controlled, teetering on the edge of destruction—much like how laments structure and contain unruly grief.

Notations: Red Scale 音譜 ：鱗動 reimagines Waitau laments through a diasporic lens, presenting them not as relics but as living forms. These works are more than translations—they are deeper resonances, a way of listening to what is nearly lost.

Institute for Australian and Asian Arts and Culture (IAC), Western Sydney University.
16 September 2025 - 20 March 2026.

This project was supported by the Chey Fellowship.