callooh! callay!
Curated by Cuixi Lin
"callooh! callay!" is a cry of exclamation from the enigmatic poem, Jabberwocky. Like the rest of this nonsensical poem, the phrase refuses to be translated without putting up a fight. Initiated with this cryptic sound, Jiayun Chen opens her solo exhibition, a tension-filled yet whimsical series of new works. Here, she enters a poetic realm where the chasm between translations becomes poignantly palpable yet unbearably light. Using translucent plexiglas, everyday objects and the immaterial such as shadow and air, she materializes the invisible membrane felt when traversing through languages. By doing so, she pauses in the space between synonyms, lingering in the eternal battles between precision and deviation, as a continuation of her long fascination with translation and mistranslation. With the distorted, the blurred, the reflected, and the imagined, she leads the viewer into a space of asymmetry where translation becomes deeply (self-)reflective, mirroring the translator more than the translated.
The exhibition also vessels an experiment in collective translation. Prior to the exhibition, Chen invited her friends to participate by creating their translations of the poem Jabberwocky in their mother tongues. In this experiment, each translation becomes a portal to a different world of the translator. Besides being part of the exhibition, the translated Jabberwocky versions were also compiled into a zine to accompany the show. All collected translations will be archived as part of the exhibition.
If you’re interested in participating in this project, send your version of the translation through this link.
Installation View :
Individual Works:
Translating Jabberwocky
2025
Plexiglass, paper
Dimension variable
This installation presents the 12 versions of the translation in mirrored form. In Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There, Alice first encounters the poem in a book within the mirror world. The text appears reversed, like a reflection, prompting her to use a mirror to read it properly. Similarly, this installation encourages viewers to engage with the translations by using a mirror, transforming the act of reading into a reflective experience.
Precision, Accuracy (claw)
2025 Dyed Plexiglass
20.5 x 9.5 x 1 inches
Precision, Accuracy #1
2025
Plexiglass and hooks
47 x 6.5 x 2.3 inches
Precision, Accuracy #2
2025
Plexiglass, hooks, and rubber bands
65 x 9.5 x 4.8 inches
Translating Jabberwocky (icons)
2025
Dyed Plexiglass
Dimension variable
Translation / Interpretation (wine cups)
2025
Plexiglass, hooks, wine cups and wine
10.3 x 18 x 9.4 inches
Translation / Interpretation (pencils)
2025
Plexiglass, hooks, 4H pencil and 4B pencil
10.3 x 18 x 7 inches
Translation / Interpretation (lighters)
2025
Plexiglass, hooks, lighter, and acrylic paint on lighter
10.3 x 18 x 7 inches