Art Reboot

16 the two rolled ends, thus becoming a full partner in art process rather than a passive observer. A pair of scroll weights can be used to hold back the rolled ends should a particularly interest- ing section prompt a lengthy pause, the equivalent of stopping during a walk to sit and enjoy a view. The first impulse of the neophyte handscroll viewer is to deal with the subject matter, treating the image as a journey with a destination. But the true destination of all fully mature art is self-realisation, enhanced consciousness. Returning slowly back through the scroll, rather than just rolling it up quickly to be put away, encourages a focus on inner languages; not just subject matter, but line, form, colour and texture. When we look through a handscroll, we shift perceptual gears to see beyond what is depicted to how it is depicted. Handscrolls give full rein to these formal qualities – balance between near and far views, vertical and horizontal shapes, solid elements and void – all without the constraints of western perspective. The brush is central to Chinese culture, in both writing and painting; line is a highly developed language in its own right. Looking past line as a merely depictive tool, we become involved in the expressiveness of gestural brushwork; we see line as dance, as an expression of character and confi- dence. Subject matter begins to shimmer and dissipate as we understand the subtle level at which Chinese artists have dealt with abstraction for more than a thousand years. As we join the dance and become immersed in these inner languages, we shift from one to another until the distinctions begin to fade; we are encouraged to shift from the intellectual to the trans-intellectual