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object of knowledge, cinema, self/other in Tibetan grammar

I’d like to dedicate this piece to the kestrel who visited us on a July morning. This is also the second piece in the restraint as kin and constraint as embassy series.

Shen Xin
Shen Xin
— 6 min read
7 frames of 16mm film showing a white hen folding herself into a mud bath
production still, Grounds of Coherence #2, 16mm hand processed with bearberry leaves, 2024

restraint as kin and constraint as embassy #2

I share knowledge of Tibetan language here through my relations with all of my Tibetan teachers, and specifically with རྒན་ Franziska-ལགས and her book བོད་སྐད་སྙིང་པོ། The Heart of Tibetan Language, which I am honoured to learn from.

In Tibetan language there lies the pervasive practice of offering differences between direct and inferential knowledge when knowledge is presented through language. The value is placed on one's relationship with knowledge, as they differ, from moment to moment, from one action to another, and from one kin to the next. The object of knowledge is its relations, much like the direction I take to continue learning in my cinematic practice.