Painting the Dao

124 ak24.3 Reifying the Primordial Stone Ink, gum arabic and watercolour on xuan paper 132.0 × 76.6 cm, Sussex and Hong Kong, January 2024 Five artist seals 水松石山房 Shuisongshi shanfang (Water, Pine and Stone Retreat) 竹虛老人 Zhuxu laoren (Old man as empty inside as bamboo) 山外山樵 Shanwai shanqiao (Mountain woodcutter who is not in the mountains) 石狂 Shikuang (Stone fool) 石 Shi (Stone) inscr iption Permanence Deep aspiration of self-consciousness Seeks eternity of spirit Whether deep inside Or outsourced to the gods We attempt to outwit mortality Whichever route we choose We build its metaphors in stone Portals to transcendence Inscribed by the Master of the Water, Pine and Stone Retreat at the Garden at the Edge of the Universe, January 2024.