Dear Friends,
Since Holly’s passing, I have received many warm messages of concern and kindness. I am deeply grateful to you all.
At this moment, according to the original plan, I should have been in Arizona. A dear friend and organizer of an art organization had generously offered me an artist residency—a trip intended not for work, but simply for rest and release. I wasn’t expected to commit to anything, only to take photographs—perhaps of desert cacti—as I wished. But at the very last moment, I decided to cancel the trip. I used to travel often with Holly. The thought of making this journey alone, without her, made the pain of loss feel even sharper. I remain profoundly thankful for my friend’s generosity.
On the other hand, the archive project is progressing steadily. This initiative, which Holly and I began in 2018, continues to demand time and focus. The labor involved has brought a form of solace—a way to temper grief through work, and at the same time, a way to remember and honour Holly.
ARCHIVE, our weekly publication launched earlier this year, has already reached Issue No. 18. In many ways, it carries forward the spirit of DOUBLE DOUBLE (2019-2024), the publication Holly and I created together as a record of our 50 years of creative work. Now, with a format that better leverages print-on-demand technology and online reading, it offers both flexibility and reach.
We’ve just released a Collected Volume of ARCHIVE Nos. 1–10—a print-on-demand edition that will be especially useful for libraries and researchers.
Since 2020, we’ve published nearly 100 books through this print-on-demand platform. Most of these also have flipbook versions for online reading, many of which reflect our ongoing archival efforts. These flipbooks are housed in The Reading Room, with unlimited access for members via a subscription through Patreon.
👉 https://patreon.com/kasingholly
We’ve recently launched a new initiative: Library Ka-sing and Holly, designed primarily for researchers and writers seeking deeper insight into our creative lives. The library will include not only our creative works such as monographs, but also primary materials—notes, clippings, notebooks, and working texts. Some of these may remain in ebook form and may not appeal to general readers. For those interested, please visit:
👉 https://touchbase.kasingholly.com
The project with Asia Art Archive in Hong Kong, focused on the Lee Ka-sing and Holly Lee Archive, is also moving forward smoothly. Following a preliminary interview conducted by Sharon Lee at the end of 2023, Hazel Kwok from Asia Art Archive, visited last month for a deeper discussion around selected archival items. AAA plans to launch phase one of the project this summer, which will include our NuNaHeDuo photography journal, published in Hong Kong years ago.
Just a few days ago, our old friend Luo Hui visited from New Zealand, where he now teaches and writes. One chapter of the book he’s working on explores the creative and publishing life that Holly and I shared—our ongoing dialogue between image and text. On his way to Toronto, he stopped in Hong Kong to study our materials at Asia Art Archive, including issues of NuNaHeDuo and materials from last year’s Another Day in Hong Kong exhibition. He also visited the M+ Museum, tracing our creative footprints in the city. Encounters like this remind me again of the value and function of an archive.
The archive project is a long-term undertaking, and in many ways, it is one of the most meaningful ways I can commemorate Holly. She had always been more systematic than I was in organizing and preserving, especially with her work. Many of her photographic series are accompanied by texts that offer clarity and context, greatly aiding the understanding of her art.
In 2013, Holly created a body of work titled Claw Script, inspired by scratch marks left by our cat on the wooden floor—marks she connected to ancient Chinese oracle bone inscriptions. It’s a beautiful and compelling series. In response, I created a visual poem: A Love Poem for Holly, Upon Viewing Her New Work, Claw Script. I later transcribed it into a Chinese-language text poem.
The morning before Luo came, he sent me his English translation of that poem. It is not an easy piece to translate, but he captured the spirit of the original with remarkable sensitivity. In the current issue of ARCHIVE, I’m sharing his translation, alongside the original visual poem and Holly’s Claw Script series. These works reflect our shared exploration of the relationship between word and image—something that resonates deeply with Luo’s own interests. During his visit, we also discussed our approach to blending fiction with personal history in both image and text—a subject that greatly interests him.
I’d like to share one more personal note—on the subject of translation. In the past, Holly handled much of the writing for our archive projects, mostly in English. Now that she’s gone, I’ve taken on that role. My own writing is rooted in Chinese—it is the language in which I can most fully express my style and voice. In our current publications, English appears only in translation. It conveys the content, but not the spirit in term of writing style. For longer pieces, I can often provide only summaries. Given the pace of our weekly publishing schedule, this already stretches my capacity.
I’ve noticed some friends and readers using browser- or app-based translation tools to read the Chinese originals. As these technologies improve, they’re increasingly able to convey the gist—even if tone and nuance are still missing. But this progress makes me feel more certain than ever that I should continue writing in the language I know best. Perhaps in the near future, you’ll be able to slip on a pair of “translation glasses”—as casually as adjusting a lens for nearsightedness—and sit back on your sofa to enjoy the twists and turns of my original prose.
Warmest regards,
Ka-sing
..................................
該文之圖片發刊在臉書時之補註
(臉書 2025-05-07)
本期ARCHIVE發刊了楚喬的貓爪文(Claw Script)系列全組作品(共9張)。貓爪文創作於2013年，是一組很好的作品，也探討了文字與圖像的關係。當時我回應，做了一個圖像詩作品「看楚喬近作貓爪文想寫給她一首情詩」，見圖為該詩稿本，共七個圖像。後來我又將此圖像詩翻譯成為文本。羅輝今次來訪多倫多，他將是個文本譯為英文。明天我把這等與大家分享。
(臉書 2025-05-08)
見圖為圖像詩「看楚喬近作貓爪文想寫給她一首情詩」於2014年的完成本，使用材料包括無酸紙印本，松木及丙烯酸媒介。1158x138x35mm。是個作品，於2013年稿本完成後沒久，我便將圖本轉譯了一個文本。原意是想把心中的進一步具體化。這裡也道出媒體不同，它們所給出訊息細節的差異。有時你需要一項具體無遺的細節，有時又需要一抹省略枝節的雲彩。至於攝影與文字，那個最寫真，也不可以一言而盡。羅輝是次來訪，他替我把原來的中文本做了一個英譯，我把兩個版本，收編於下：
[ 看楚喬近作貓爪文想寫給她一首情詩 ]
看你的近作貓爪文想寫給你一首情詩
與火星人談情遠方的談國事總是又身近又遙遠
相愛不及邊際圓圈三角正方生活家常話常
文化的脈絡貓的脈絡它的縱橫喜怒哀樂
閱讀每天閱讀又總有奇想層層熱烈
轉輪啟動我說浮雲變成文字你卻在地上爪痕發見遠年的激情
比翼遠流彼此相看我們心中桃源鄉間機械學
[ A love poem for Holly, upon viewing her new work, Claw Script ]
Viewing your new work, Claw Script, I want to write you a love poem
A Martian love affair, like the affairs of the world, intimate yet distant
Love knowing no boundaries, circles triangles squares, daily conversation
Cultural pattern, a cat’s pattern, lines of joy anger sadness
Daily reading, daily accruing, layers of ardent imagination
Cogs turning, I see clouds morph into words, as you discover yesteryear’s passion in claw marks on the floor
Wings touching, adrift, but not apart, we witness the mechanics of peach blossom spring in our hearts
詩中所用七圖，均來自我之前的圖像系列。其中部分有其出處，猶如典故。例如”與火星人談談情“，“轉輪文字”。不過，不諳源頭也無大礙，明者，多一番層次耳。其中最後一行末句”桃源鄉間機械學“，乃借自，自家藏本，武田雅哉一書之名。日文書名「桃源郷の機械学」，原是二段式的文字結構。我易改為三段式，把形容段變成其中一個主段。我們心中的「桃源」「鄉間」「機械學」，也明志，也是共勉。羅輝來訪，大家傾談其中一個重點為，我們心中文字與圖像的關係。我提到我的攝影也某程度受中國古典詩的影響，尤其是其中拼棄連接詞的使用，以主詞並列的方式。羅說譯出該詩也是對楚喬的致意及懷念。說得對。