This is an installation consisting of a single-channel video and two drawings. The video was shot in a long take with a close-up of the actor’s blinking eyes. The two drawings are marked as having been made on the 16th and 17th of May in 2012, respectively. In the one drawn on the 16th, there is an explanation of the video and instructions for the actor’s performance, such as “Blinking eyes, looking at one point, very naturally, without words, without thinking, and without any particular emotion.” There are also concepts such as “immediacy, the contrast and black spectrum, clarity of events and things, ability to remember, successive time, years, performative writing,” and “related to half an hour” written there. Besides, the drawing made on the 17th shows a spectrum of deep black gradually fading from the top to the bottom.

The work is based on the novel 30 Minutes, written by Shiu Jin. According to him, 30 Minutes is “a record of his life experience, in other words, the source of images that came to mind while holding the breath for 30 minutes and were filtered.” He associates this with staccato because blinking and breathing have similarities in that they are both repetitive and continuous. The title, Staccato Black, is the name of a new black color he created. He explained, “There is a kind of blackout when we blink our eyes, and there is also a black color in it. However, even in the darkness, numerous images of daily life exist. And it contains memories beyond images. The blinking moment is fleeting, but everything is contained in it.” The audience will read the text, understand the work, and simultaneously focus on their act of blinking while watching the video.