Above is the demonstration of how the series of work should look when installed on a wall. As the series continues, the images will accumulate, and the Tetris-like square images will continue to grow and spread along the wall. The demonstration has translated my vision for the project quite clearly: Viewing all the images as a whole, one can clearly see the uneven edges, indicating the different times of waking up, going to sleep, and the duration of the waking hours. The discontinued empty squares within each day are the hours I fail to take a picture, either because I am asleep or in bed due to sickness. The blank spaces, as important as the filled-up spaces, defined the rhythm of the work as a whole. Altogether, this is a map of my sleep, my health, and in a way, a map of my mental stability.​

​

At the beginning of the project, I had unconsciously chosen the black and white films over the coloured ones. In fact, most of the photos are taken in black and white. The justification for this is both sentimental reasons and practical concerns. Emotionally, the colorless monotone is a truthful visualisation of my view of the reality at the time, it was dull, unexciting, and cold, hence the instinctive choice. I've decided to keep the colour choice as a method to eliminate distractions, so that the viewers can focus on the construction of the image, assuming the perspectives of the photographer at the time. In the beginning, most of the images are taken within my own apartment, with almost a dreadful repetition of staring at the keyboards, clocks, objects at hand, and shadows. This is the phase I almost never look up to my surroundings, but uncontrollably get caught up with the details of the objects. Later on, as I frequently travel to school or parks, the close-ups were gradually replaced with scenes or objects situated on a larger scale. Due to the shortage in the supply of polaroid films, I have yet to print out the most recent photos. By imagining it, with the actual photos, there should be another visible change: light. As I travel more to places with more sunlight, the photos should be brighter. I envision the change in light would give another rhythm to the work. ​

​

2. Further development 

Testing out variations

Colour - I do wonder if I would or should use colored films later:  Clearly, there has been a noticeable change in my mood. My sleep is getting better, I go out more, laugh more, made human connections, and I am attracted to more and more things outside the apartment. For example, last week, I saw this red balloon in the park. I played with it for so long, until the alarm rang, then I took a photo of it. At that very moment, I knew that this image should not be in black and white. That is when I start to question if I should highlight such moments by presenting them the way they are, the way they made me feel. 

​

Construction & Narratives 

In discussion with Paul, I was made to realise that I had unconsciously developed there was a pattern in the construction of my images: the objects are either centered with perfect symmetry or hidden away in the corner. And in most cases, I tend to divide the picture with edges and lines by 1/3 and 2/3. I plan to observe if the compulsion will evolve through time, and test out different ways of composition. From time to time, I would continue to rearrange the images to test the viability of generating new narratives. 

​

End of the Year Exhibition

Since the project is a continuous long-term experiment, I plan to continue the current approach and most likely, exhibit a larger quantity of works from the same series at the degree show. Additionally, I plan to include other works in the exhibition, potentially an artist book of Every Waking Hour, documentation of the work process, and some additional experimental works. (see below)

​

3. Other plans for Unit 3 

In the coming months, committing to the current project would be my main focus. Committing to the habit of tracking down the days by the hour was challenging at first. However, firmly believing in the process, I am in a way freer than ever. For the first time in a long time, I feel grounded and certain. Once I am used to the habit, I had the peace of mind to explore many other fields. For example, I have found a plausible solution to demonstrate the vacuum state and to design a clocklike device with a ball repeating in circles. Some rough ideas, and current experiments are illustrated as follows: