Painting the Dao

115 ak23.30 Entwined Companions Ink and watercolour on xuan paper 137.0 × 69.5 cm, Hong Kong, May 2023 Three artist seals 水松石山房 Shuisongshi shanfang (Water, Pine and Stone Retreat) 如如居士 Ruru Jushi (Retired scholar who believes all doctrines equal) 石狂 Shikuang (Stone fool) inscr iption Ancient pine innocent of the woodcutter’s axe Twisted ranks of bark serried by time Strange stone perforated by the ages Risen from the deep before time existed Steadfast companions of the wilderness Indifferent to time Inscribed by the Master of the Water, Pine and Stone Retreat on an idle day enjoyed at the Garden at the Edge of the Universe in the cloud-drifting spring of 2023.