Gathering the Spirit
a field study in ADHD
2022
Co-create by |
張子宣
張子恩
Mixed-media installation | Dimensions variable.
Three-channel performance video,
sound, field narratives
Video: 4K, color,Mandarin subtitles
〈Inner and outer luminescence〉 24’44’’
〈Inner oceans〉 31’15’’
《聚精會神》是一件以注意力不足過動症（ADHD）為田野基礎的三頻道行為錄像作品，從十餘位確診者的深度訪談出發，試圖描繪注意力如何在感知中迷失、流動與短暫凝聚。透過影像、聲音與身體行動的交錯，作品探討一種「嘗試集中」的存在狀態，如何轉化為觀看與知覺的實驗場域。
在訪談中，我們驚訝地發現，無論受訪者描述的是平靜或混
亂，絕大多數人都以「海」作為感知的隱喻：
「我看到海平面，腦袋出現 balance 這個字，那是一條直線，它會貼附在眼前所有橫的線上，但不會貼在斜的東西上。」 「平靜像是清澈看得見底的湖，無流入也無流出，但偶爾有風產生波動；而不平靜就像海，深不見底、波濤不止……」
在作品中，我們循著這些內在海洋的影像，穿插紀錄受訪者口述的片段，嘗試將感知的海外化於視聽空間中。攝影棚中，一顆顆撿來的石頭被排列成直線，成為從混亂走向秩序的象徵軌道，也成為三頻道影像剪輯與結構的隱性骨架。
—
「注意力」在心理學裡被定義為「對局部刺激意識水平的提升，是一種知覺的選擇性集中」，但至今尚無統一且具操作性的科學定義。它介於知覺與記憶之間，既是條件，也是裂縫。
潛心專注、魂不守舍、心猿意馬、全神貫注。中文語境中，「注意」的詞源結構多指向「心」「神」「魂」「精」等難以量化的身體－精神單位。而在中醫系統中，注意力的不集中常被歸因於「風證」或「心神上擾」，視為脾胃系統與氣血流動失衡的結果，與西醫中將其定位於腦神經功能障礙的觀點大異其趣。
作品名「聚精會神」，既來自日常語彙，也引自《本神》與《靈樞》等古典醫籍中對身體與精神關係的系統性描述：
「生之來謂之精；兩精相搏謂之神；隨神往來者謂之魂；並精而出入者謂之魄……」「內念不萌，外想不入，獨我自主，謂之元神。」
在這樣的語境中，「精」為形之基，「神」為變之用，魂魄之間的出入構成了意識的運動場域。注意，不再只是認知的工具，而是整體身心之間細微調動的總和。
—
我們將光作為注意力與精神的視覺意象：在夜間的拍攝中，蚊蟲向光集結亂舞，成為身體與知覺的投影；自體發光與體外發光的疊加，隱喻注意力如何在主體與環境之間來回穿梭。展場中，耳機內的海浪聲、環境中的蚊蟲聲交錯出一個不穩定的聲音場，使觀看者進入一個注意力游移的場域。
《聚精會神》不在於呈現「專注」的典範狀態，而是捕捉一種持續流變的感知實踐——在躁動之中生成的寧靜，在混亂當中召喚的秩序，在無法停留裡發現一條直線。
在訪談中，我們驚訝地發現，無論受訪者描述的是平靜或混
亂，絕大多數人都以「海」作為感知的隱喻：
「我看到海平面，腦袋出現 balance 這個字，那是一條直線，它會貼附在眼前所有橫的線上，但不會貼在斜的東西上。」 「平靜像是清澈看得見底的湖，無流入也無流出，但偶爾有風產生波動；而不平靜就像海，深不見底、波濤不止……」
在作品中，我們循著這些內在海洋的影像，穿插紀錄受訪者口述的片段，嘗試將感知的海外化於視聽空間中。攝影棚中，一顆顆撿來的石頭被排列成直線，成為從混亂走向秩序的象徵軌道，也成為三頻道影像剪輯與結構的隱性骨架。
—
「注意力」在心理學裡被定義為「對局部刺激意識水平的提升，是一種知覺的選擇性集中」，但至今尚無統一且具操作性的科學定義。它介於知覺與記憶之間，既是條件，也是裂縫。
潛心專注、魂不守舍、心猿意馬、全神貫注。中文語境中，「注意」的詞源結構多指向「心」「神」「魂」「精」等難以量化的身體－精神單位。而在中醫系統中，注意力的不集中常被歸因於「風證」或「心神上擾」，視為脾胃系統與氣血流動失衡的結果，與西醫中將其定位於腦神經功能障礙的觀點大異其趣。
作品名「聚精會神」，既來自日常語彙，也引自《本神》與《靈樞》等古典醫籍中對身體與精神關係的系統性描述：
「生之來謂之精；兩精相搏謂之神；隨神往來者謂之魂；並精而出入者謂之魄……」「內念不萌，外想不入，獨我自主，謂之元神。」
在這樣的語境中，「精」為形之基，「神」為變之用，魂魄之間的出入構成了意識的運動場域。注意，不再只是認知的工具，而是整體身心之間細微調動的總和。
—
我們將光作為注意力與精神的視覺意象：在夜間的拍攝中，蚊蟲向光集結亂舞，成為身體與知覺的投影；自體發光與體外發光的疊加，隱喻注意力如何在主體與環境之間來回穿梭。展場中，耳機內的海浪聲、環境中的蚊蟲聲交錯出一個不穩定的聲音場，使觀看者進入一個注意力游移的場域。
《聚精會神》不在於呈現「專注」的典範狀態，而是捕捉一種持續流變的感知實踐——在躁動之中生成的寧靜，在混亂當中召喚的秩序，在無法停留裡發現一條直線。
Gathering the Spirit is a three-channel performance-based video work grounded in field research on Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Developed through in-depth interviews with over a dozen diagnosed individuals, the project explores how attention—elusive and unstable—moves, disperses, and momentarily gathers within perception. Through the interplay of video, sound, and bodily action, the work examines a state of “attempted concentration” and how it might be transformed into an experimental space of seeing and sensing.
During the interviews, we were struck by a recurring metaphor: whether describing calm or chaos, the majority of participants turned to the image of the sea.
—
In psychology, “attention” is defined as the selective concentration of awareness on certain stimuli, elevating the level of consciousness in response to localized input. Yet no single operational or universally accepted scientific definition has prevailed. Attention lies somewhere between perception and memory—at once condition and rupture.
In Chinese, the language of attention is rich with poetic imagery: to be fully absorbed (潛心專注), to lose one’s soul (魂不守舍), a monkey-minded heart (心猿意馬), to gather spirit and essence (聚精會神). These expressions trace attention not to cognitive structures, but to embodied and spiritual elements—heart (心), spirit (神), soul (魂), essence (精). In traditional Chinese medicine, attention deficit is often attributed to wind syndrome or spiritual disturbance, understood as imbalances in the spleen or disrupted qi circulation—radically different from the neurological framing in Western medicine.
The work’s title, Gathering the Spirit, draws not only from everyday speech, but also from classical medical texts such as Ben Shen and Ling Shu, which elaborate a systemic understanding of the body–spirit relationship:
—
In the visual lexicon of the work, light becomes the metaphor for attention and spirit. In night scenes, swarms of insects drawn to light create a visual analogy for restless perception. The interplay between inner and outer luminescence symbolizes the oscillation of attention between self and environment. Within the exhibition space, ambient sounds of insects are layered with ocean waves heard through headphones, producing an unstable sonic environment that invites the viewer into a state of attentional drift.
Gathering the Spirit is not a depiction of ideal focus. It seeks instead to capture a fluid and fluctuating practice of perception:
a stillness that emerges from agitation, an order summoned from chaos, a single line discovered within the impossibility of staying still.
During the interviews, we were struck by a recurring metaphor: whether describing calm or chaos, the majority of participants turned to the image of the sea.
“I saw the sea’s horizon, and the word balance appeared in my mind. It was a straight line, and that line would attach itself to every horizontal edge in front of me—but never to anything diagonal.” “Calm feels like a still and clear lake, bottom visible, with no inflow or outflow—yet occasionally stirred by wind. In contrast, unrest is like the sea: wave-filled, bottomless...”Following these inner oceans, the work interweaves participants’ spoken accounts with images that attempt to externalize their perceptions through audiovisual composition. In a studio setting, hand-picked stones are arranged into a line—an embodied trajectory from disorder to alignment—serving as both metaphorical and structural spine of the video installation.
—
In psychology, “attention” is defined as the selective concentration of awareness on certain stimuli, elevating the level of consciousness in response to localized input. Yet no single operational or universally accepted scientific definition has prevailed. Attention lies somewhere between perception and memory—at once condition and rupture.
In Chinese, the language of attention is rich with poetic imagery: to be fully absorbed (潛心專注), to lose one’s soul (魂不守舍), a monkey-minded heart (心猿意馬), to gather spirit and essence (聚精會神). These expressions trace attention not to cognitive structures, but to embodied and spiritual elements—heart (心), spirit (神), soul (魂), essence (精). In traditional Chinese medicine, attention deficit is often attributed to wind syndrome or spiritual disturbance, understood as imbalances in the spleen or disrupted qi circulation—radically different from the neurological framing in Western medicine.
The work’s title, Gathering the Spirit, draws not only from everyday speech, but also from classical medical texts such as Ben Shen and Ling Shu, which elaborate a systemic understanding of the body–spirit relationship:
“Life arises from essence (精); when two essences interact, spirit (神) emerges. The soul (魂) follows the spirit’s motion; the corporeal soul (魄) enters and exits with essence...” “When no inner thoughts arise, when no outer impressions disturb—when I alone remain—this is called the original spirit (元神).”In this framework, essence forms the basis of the body, spirit the force of transformation. The exchange between soul and essence constitutes the terrain of consciousness. Attention, then, is not merely a cognitive tool, but the subtle modulation of an entire body-mind ecology.
—
In the visual lexicon of the work, light becomes the metaphor for attention and spirit. In night scenes, swarms of insects drawn to light create a visual analogy for restless perception. The interplay between inner and outer luminescence symbolizes the oscillation of attention between self and environment. Within the exhibition space, ambient sounds of insects are layered with ocean waves heard through headphones, producing an unstable sonic environment that invites the viewer into a state of attentional drift.
Gathering the Spirit is not a depiction of ideal focus. It seeks instead to capture a fluid and fluctuating practice of perception:
a stillness that emerges from agitation, an order summoned from chaos, a single line discovered within the impossibility of staying still.
Inner oceans (still) 1/23
Inner oceans (still) 2/23
Inner oceans (still) 3/23
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Inner oceans (still) 12/23
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Inner oceans (still) 14/23
Inner oceans (still) 15/23
installation view 16/23
Inner and outer luminescence (still) 17/23
Inner and outer luminescence (still) 18/23
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