Week1
1. Project Introduction
This project begins with a mistranslation: subway mouth. Instead of correcting it, I use it to explore how meaning can shift through iteration.
The project develops as a 100-step sequence, where each step introduces a small and controlled change. These changes include synonym substitution, grammatical shifts, phonetic similarity, spelling errors, and associative connections.
Each word remains linked to the previous one, allowing meaning to drift gradually across different semantic fields — from space, to systems, to the body, and then into behaviour.
Over time, language becomes unstable and begins to reorganise itself. At the end, the sequence returns to ‘subway mouth’, forming a loop.
The project treats error as a method, showing how small shifts can generate continuous transformation in language.
2. Book Description
The project is presented as a 100-page publication, with one phrase per page. This format allows the reader to experience the gradual transformation of language over time, rather than understanding it all at once.
The pacing is structured so that changes begin slowly, become more fluid in the middle, and stabilise toward the end.
Subtle layout shifts introduce a sense of movement across pages, while minimal design keeps attention on the sequence itself. Thin or semi-transparent paper allows traces of text to overlap, creating a sense of accumulation and memory.
The book functions not only as a record of the sequence, but as a physical system where meaning unfolds through time and repetition.
3. Final Sequence
- subway mouth
- underground mouth
- underground opening
- underground entrance
- entrance below ground
- entrance below
- below entrance
- below opening
- lower opening
- low opening
- small opening
- slight opening
- slight gap
- narrow gap
- thin gap
- thin line
- line
- boundary
- edge
- edge of space
- space edge
- space limit
- limit
- restriction
- controlled limit
- controlled access
- access
- access point
- entry point
- point of entry
- entry
- entropy
- going inside
- going in
- moving in
- movement inward
- inward movement
- inward
- inside
- inner
- inner body
- internal body
- body space
- body system
- structure
- structured system
- framework
- network
- network flow
- flow
- flaw
- circulation
- circulation system
- blood flow
- breathing
- breath
- pulse
- heartbeat
- body rhythm
- body system
- control system
- control
- controlled movement
- regulated movement
- regulation
- discipline
- disciplined
- body behaviour
- behavioural system
- pattern
- repeated pattern
- repetition
- repeated action
- habit
- eat
- bite
- consume
- consumption
- daily consumption
- daily routine
- daily movement
- moving body
- body
- body system
- body opening
- skin
- skin opening
- open skin
- body mouth
- mouth
- month
- human mouth
- mouth opening
- opening mouth
- mouth entrance
- entrance mouth
- subway mouth
4. Publication
Week2
1. Phonetic Sequence
In the second week, I shift my focus from translation to sound. Each step introduces a very small change — specifically a shift of a single sound or syllable — allowing the phrase to gradually evolve over time. The structure remains linear, moving in one direction from the starting point.
At this stage, I establish a rule: each step should only change one phonetic unit. This constraint keeps the sequence controlled, while still allowing variation to emerge.
- subway mouth
- subway moth
- subway mouse
- subway house
- subway hose
- subway rose
- subway road
- subway toad
- subway load
- subway code
- subway cold
- subway hold
- subway hole
- subway whole
- subway hall
- subway call
- subway ball
- subway bell
- subway belt
- subway melt
- subway milk
- subway silk
- subway sick
- subway sink
- subway sing
- subway wing
- subway wind
- subway mind
- subway mine
- subway line
- subway lime
- subway time
- subway tide
- subway side
- subway sign
- subway sine
- subway seen
- subway scene
- subway screen
- subway scream
- subway stream
- subway dream
- subway cream
- subway seam
- subway seem
- subway team
- subway beam
- subway beak
- subway peak
- subway speak
2. Word Network
As the sequence develops, I begin to question its linear structure. A single word does not always lead to one outcome. Instead, a small phonetic change can produce multiple directions.
I start to test what happens if a word can move in more than one direction. From certain points, the sequence splits into different paths. Each path follows the same rule — a change of a single sound or syllable — but leads to a different result.
The structure shifts from a line into a network. It also begins to fold back into itself, forming a loop, where “subway mouth” appears again as a return point.
At this point, the project moves from a sequence of words into a system of relationships.
3. Visualising the Network
As the network develops, I begin to look for a way to represent its structure. The branching and looping start to resemble a navigational system, which leads me to explore the format of a subway map.
This direction also reflects the origin of the project, which began with a mistranslation of a subway sign. The use of a transport system is not only visual, but embedded in the logic of the work.
I translate the network into a visual system, where each word becomes a station and each phonetic shift becomes a connection. Branches form different routes, and the loop becomes a return line.
