Mengkou CHEN-BRIGHTON

I found a lot of interesting patterns on the items on the altar of the shrine, all of which gave me a sense of mystery.

OF MY FAMILY

Museum Trip Purpose: In order to understand the significance of these motifs on ritual objects, I went to the Sichuan Museum.

Location: Sichuan Museum Time: 19/02/2023

These patterns are also used on clothing, buildings, and supplies.

Sacrificial Masks

Starting Point My grandmother was a very family orientated person and every year she would hold rituals to bring her family together, so our family still has the altar, family tree and shrine, and I was very impressed by such rituals.

Ancestral hall

Sacrificial platform

Genealogy

Worship to the gods

A historical atlas recording

Function Worship of family ancestors Family meeting

the relationships and deeds of family members.

All ritual objects have specific motifs on them which symbolise some spiritual meaning.

In ancient rituals, masks were believed to carry the identity of spirits and gods, and the wearer there by gained power.

Pattern

Material: Acrylic marker

Most of the motifs are based on flora and fauna, which are revered for their extraordinary powers and are therefore applied to various

Experimental Works

Case Study [ Sichuan Opera ]

Through the study of ancient patterns, I try to design bird patterns and flower patterns.

In Sichuan opera, actors switch themselves into different characters by changing their faces.

items for prayers.

Location: Sichuan Opera Theatre, Chengdu, China Time: 09/02/2023

Dragon pattern [ Dragon ]

I went to the Sichuan Opera Theater and experienced drawing faces to wearing character costumes and hairstyles and imitating character personalities, transforming myself into the ancient character Diao Chan.

Ruyi pattern [ Ganoderma lucidum ]

Mask [ Monkey King ]

Qiequ pattern [ Bird ]

Early-Stage

Late-Stage

Key pattern [ Snake ] There are many different styles of the Monkey King’s face, and the colours of the patterns on the Monkey King’s face vary from one stage of growth to another.

Conclusion

Phoenix pattern [ Phoenix ]

Serpentine pattern [ Snake ]

Material: Charcoal Pencil / Pencil

Masks are unique, the pattern on the mask changes according to the character’s personality and it can permanently represent a character.

Plan

ME

The family cohesiveness centered on the grandmother, and everyone had distinct personality traits and different backgrounds of identity, I want to create my family’s own masks for them.

I tried to show the characteristics of each character as an image.

GRANDMOTHER

MOTHER

FATHER

Sketch of Pattern

Sketch of mask I combined these patterns into masks, and the masks became totems representing each person.

Mask

Mock-up I created a model of the mask using simple materials such as paper, plastic sheets and super-clear clay to initially determine the size of the mask and where to use special materials.

Fire Barehead Memorial Tablet

Fish

Love gossip

(In China, Fish represents progress in study)

Video games

Altar Lots of expression Glasses

FATHER Dad’s mask is mainly in gold and red, the gold represents that dad is responsible for making money, and the red represents dad’s fiery character; there are also different shapes of “eyes” on the mask, which represent dad’s many micro-expressions.

Incense Gold

Braces

Tear

Working Process

(High Status) Punctual

Yoga

Eyes (Fortune Teller)

ME

Flowers

GRANDMOTHER I used black and gold represent grandmother is the most powerful character in the family, and as she is a fortune teller, so I used ‘eyes’ as the main element, to represent foreknowledge of the future, as well as the element of rituals.

I use highly saturated colours in my masks to reflect my outgoing personality, and I use a lot of water related elements in my mask designs, such as fish to represent academic progress and tears to represent my tendency to cry easily.

I injected watercolour and water into the tube to simulate tears.

I used glowing light bulbs to simulate my dad’s bald head.

The hardest part of mask making is how to wear it, so I used foam board, wire and elasticated cord to solve the problem.

Travel Beauty

MOTHER The variety of elements on the mother’s mask represents her varied life experiences and hobbies; low saturated colours are used to reflect her gentle nature.

I try to use a variety of materials such as candy, wool, cellophane, and more.

Final Outcome

Reflection The making of the masks was the most difficult part of the whole project.

I needed to choose the right materials according to the characteristics and identity of each character, and I needed to convey the spirit of the character, which was a great challenge for me. But when the family members put on the masks, I was shocked, and the masks really became totems representing the spirit of the family at this time.

THE CIRCLE OF CHENGDU

Observation Chengdu’s layout distinguishes it from other cities in that it is a city of many circles.

Further Thinking

Huanhuaxi Park

Apart from the city street layout, some parks, schools and commercial streets also form different circles. Therefore I chose two circles for my investigation, one is a natural park with history, while the other represents a modern and humanistic business street.

Huan huaxi is a very representative historical and cultural park in Chengdu, and I found that the most important feature of the park is that it has a very large number of plants, with more than two species of plants in each place.

Software: Coreldraw

Starting Point

Chengdu

When I went to the museum I noticed an interesting feature of Chengdu’s city map, that the city is made up of many circles, so I decided to investigate and experience the city’s various circles, to delve deeper into the city’s relationship with circles.

Filed Research

Software: Coreldraw

Huanhuaxi Park Business Street

Wuhan

Chongqing

Museum

Shanghai

Sand table modol of baodun city Photo: 2023/10/20 at Chengdu Museum

University

Green Plant Ecosystem

Hospital

Business Circle

Nanjing

I found out that the city of Chengdu has always been laid out in a circular shape since ancient times, so I’m curious as to what influenced such a layout.

Huanhuaxi Park

Business Street

I walked around the lake in the park, collecting and recording plants around the lake and making specimens.

1 kind of plant

3 kinds of plant

5 kinds of plant

8 kinds of plant

9 kinds of plant

10 kinds of plant

I recorded the number of plant species at each node and distinguished them with different colours.

Plant Sample I collected the different plants that appeared at each node and made botanical specimens.

Icon Design Based on the plant samples I collected, I designed icons for each plant.

Biosphere Map I created a map of the Huanhuaxi Biosphere based on the collected plant species and distribution.

Software: Coreldraw

Tulbaghia Violacea

Jasminum Mesnyi

Lantana Camara

Pilea Cadierei

Euryops Chrysanthemoides

Bougainvillea Spectabilis

Cymbidium Hybrida

Prunus Mume

Bougainvillea Glabra

Salix Babylonica

Yulania Denudata

Prunus Cerasifera

Conclusion: The plants of Huanhuaxi grow around the central lake, and the southern part of the water-rich area has an even richer variety of plants, which have gradually formed an ecosphere in the park over time.

Pistacia Chinensis Bunge

Bamboo

Software: Coreldraw

Final Plan Huanhuaxi has a unique ecosystem, and to give a more direct feel for this ecosystem, I created a book that can be interacted with.

Mock up

Recording & Obeservation In order to experiment with the feasibility of growing plants on paper, I sprayed water on the paper every day and observed and recorded the growth of the plants.

Based on my draft, I made a simple model.

Making Paper 1. Put the pulp into the blender 2. Add the more delicate pulp into the water and mix well 3. Sprinkle the seeds into the water bowl.

This is a living book with seeds of different plants on each page, and the ecosphere of Huanhuaxi can be formed by rolling the book into a circle.

This will give a more intuitive view of the distribution of plants in this ecosphere, and will also show the diversity of Huanhuaxi's vegetation in an interesting way.

4. Gently place the grinder into the water and make sure the pulp and seeds are evenly spread on the grinder.

Result: Different plants germinate at different rates.

But all of them can grow on the paper.

Working Process

Final Outcome [ Huanhuaxi Park ]

I carved some stamps with plants as elements.

Reflection In the final presentation of the project, it was difficult to control the thickness of the paper during the process of making the paper, resulting in some of the paper not having support. Later on, we consulted the information and found that we could add pulp again to increase the thickness after the paper dried.

Software: Coreldraw

Business Street When I walked into this food court, I could smell all sorts of odours, so I went to the various shops to find the source of the odours.

Experimental Works I collected the ingredients that gave off the odour in each shop, each one gave off a different odour and gave me a different feeling, they seemed to be linked to memories.

Research So I'm wondering if there's a way to preserve them?

Do other people have memories awakened by smells like I do?

I make handmade soap out of the raw materials after grinding them into a powder in such a form that the scent is preserved.

I arranged the soaps in a circle in the order in which the smells emanated from the commercial street and asked people to guess the ingredients by the smells emanating from the soaps.

The main source of odour I found was the various raw materials.

I've found that many people are actually very sensitive to smells and can guess just by smelling it. The most interesting thing is some smells recalled memories in some people.

Odour Map

Final Plan I put on a blindfold and walked around the block, different smells emitted at different distances, so I decided on the size of the graph first based on the distance I recorded for each smell, and then the colours based on how the smells made me feel.

I would like to create a card that can smell and interact with a person. When a person smells the scents, it evokes memories.

The strong smell of the shopping street is most of the time a combination of multiple smells together, so the final smell circle on the card is multi-coloured. The odour circles are then combined with the corresponding combinations of ingredients to give a more intuitive idea of the type of source and the range of different odours emanating from the place.

Working Process I pasted different raw materials onto the card.

I found in this process that scents give a distinct feeling of temperature.

Final Outcome

Reflection It is an interesting experiment to combine smell and vision to try to awaken a certain memory in the viewer. After the scent cards were completed, I handed them to different people, and it was interesting to see that the same card would evoke different memories for different people, for example, the smell of a hot pot restaurant, some people would think of the gathering with their best friends at graduation, while some would start to miss their hometown.

CHAIR IN THE COMMUNITY

Collage The lifestyle of the people who live in this neighbourhood is very different from the rest of the city, they are much more close-knit.

Starting Point On a CITY WALK, I discovered an old neighbourhood in the heart of town. Everything about the old neighbourhood seemed out of place in the rapidly developing city. The people on the streets seemed to know each other, the clothes still hanging on the messy wires, the stains on the walls... everything seemed very old, but very new to me. so I tried to get to know this special neighbourhood.

Location: Liangjia Street Shooting Time: 10/13/2023

Chat

Have a meal

Hairdressing

Play poker

Making Zongzi

Drink and eat Software: Procreate

Development

Texture

I found the chairs to be the most representative presence in this neighbourhood. There are a lot of different chairs on this street, everyone can sit on it and do whatever you want to do, a variety of chairs here to spell out the special way of life here, but also connects the transfer of emotions between the people here.

The mottled texture of the walls and floors of the neighbourhood is a unique trace of the neighbourhood. It bears witness to the 60-year history of the neighbourhood and records the traces of people's lives.

Experimental Works I use traditional printing methods with ink and rice paper to preserve these textures.

I printed the patterns of the various plants here, the cracks in the ground, the manhole covers, the bamboo weaving on the tops of the chairs, the mahjong melon peanuts and so on.

Final Plan

Collage

Waving

I will choose three different chairs for the design, incorporating traces and memories of this place and life into the chairs, and finally placing chairs that are unique to this neighbourhood into the neighbourhood, commemorating a way of life that has a unique charm.

I combined elements of the neighbourhood and texture which I collected together, such as street signage and various textures with the chairs.

I try to blend the different textures by weaving them together.

I used the three scenes of "mahjong", "barber shop" and "chatting" as my design elements.

Element I take elements from the appropriate scenes, such as mahjong, shop signs and melons and peanuts for chatting and eating.

Final Outcome

Texture Collage These three chairs will serve as one of the representatives of the culture of the neighbourhood, so in order to better integrate the chairs into the neighbourhood, I have combined the culture, texture and colours of the neighbourhood.

Final Outcome

Reflection After the design was completed, I gave the three chairs to the people who lived in the neighbourhood. I wanted to go back and look at my work after a long time, and I am sure that in these three chairs, traces of belonging to the neighbourhood will continue to be added, so that my design can be fully integrated into the life of the neighbourhood.

Disapearing Disapearing Words Words

Experimental Works

Research

After the listening test, I found that in both Chinese and English, people had forgotten parts of the words, and some words could only be remembered partially or were spelt wrongly.

In order to find out why words are fading away from people's minds, I have started to look for the reasons for the disappearance of words, and I will be doing my research in the context of the Chinese language.

1.

Starting Point

2.

The part of studying that I dread the most is doing dictation exercises. A lot of the text felt very familiar to me, but when it came to writing the words I would always forget how to spell them. So I was curious if other people would be in the same situation as me, so I organised a dictation test.

Simplified Chinese characters → Pinyin

Traditional Chinese characters → Simplified Chinese characters

字 → zi

漢→汉

With the widespread use of computers, text became an input version, and people simply used pinyin for applications.

In 1956, Chinese was modified to use simplified characters.

3.

Chinese Dictation Results

English Dictation Results

4.

Pinyin → Voice input method

QR code

Voice input has become increasingly popular in recent years.

In order to reduce the time spent on entering text, many service industries have started using QR codes.