Bird’s Kingdom

By Alson Zhao

Fall 2021 / Winter Issue

God Walks in between Worlds 1
God Walks in between Worlds 2

Bird’s Kingdom

            – The god walks in between worlds

The mirror is just a line

Bird hangs on the line,

points to the sky and says:

This is my land. 

points to the land and says:

This is my sky.

Bird then says to the stars:

The world is mine,

You, are my subjects.

The sea is also a line

Bird hangs on the line forever

The sun is born from here

Bird says:

“I am the moon.”

The sun is the moon’s voice

The moon, is just another bird

“DO NOT TURN LEFT!

THE SUN IS ONLY AN ACCIDENT!

BIRD IS A LIAR!

BIRD CREATED LANGUAGE!

LANGUAGE IS ONLY A CONCEPT!

CONCEPT DOES NOT REMAIN!”

Bird flaps its wings

Bird’s language is

Painting’s language

In this language:

Bird, the supreme king,

as long as its subjects

have the same eyes

Mirror is just a line

Bird hangs on the mirror

Bird sees the world overlapping

But Bird cannot see itself

Bird is just a Bird

Bird is Bird’s moon

Bird is Bird’s hometown. 

鸟的王国

        — 神行走于世界与世界的间隙

镜子只是一条线

鸟就挂在线上面

指着天空说:

“这是我的土地。”

指着土地说:

“这是我的天空。”

鸟又对着星星说:

“世界是我的,

你们,是我的子民。”

海也是一条线

鸟永远挂在线上

太阳,就从这里出生

鸟说:

“我是月亮。”

太阳是月亮的声音

月亮,只是另一只鸟

“不要向左转!

太阳只是一个意外!

鸟是骗子!

鸟创造了语言!

语言只是概念!概念并不存在!”

鸟扇动翅膀

鸟的语言就是

绘画的语言

在这种语言里

鸟这至高无上的国王

和它的子民一样

有着同样的眼睛

镜子只是一条线

鸟挂在镜子上面

鸟看见世界重重叠叠

但鸟看不见自己

鸟只是一只鸟

鸟是鸟的月亮

鸟是鸟的故乡

Alson Zhao (School of the Art Institute of Chicago, BFA 2021) is from Yunnan, China. Taking inspiration from structures and patterns of textiles as well as poetry and mythologies from his hometown and various cultures, he recently has been working on interweaving the two mediums of printmaking and 16mm film.