Than Qui
2013
Found turtle shell, lens, video loop
Dimensions variable, shell overall 12x10x4"
Plastromancy is the ancient Chinese practice of divination by reading cracks on the lower half of a turtle shell. Chinese calligraphy is believed to have originated from fortune tellers recording these cracks and fissures found on turtles’ shells. Accordingly one of the world’s oldest and most cohesive writing systems emerged from a process of cracking and fragmentation.