March 2017, Winchester
The frogs were the first to know something terrible and magnificent was stirring and beginning to awake. They could feel it as they absorbed the water through their permeable skin. Their environment was changing as well, in response to the message that had been carried by the river. Small plants and fungi had started to whisper amongst themselves in that secret underground way they do. Some had even begun to withdraw back to their humble abodes under the soil. Thus began a mass migration of amphibians, hopping, leaping and shuffling deeper into the thickets of their jungle home, spreading the rivers message as they went through that extraordinary skin if theirs. A ripple of green succeeded them as leaves would curl up and fold at the touch of their webbed feet; as if recoiling in horror. As for other animals of the river; those that prayed on small amphibians, followed them along their journey, maintaining that ever too close relationship.
Name: Louis
Origin: Somerset, England
Self-Description:
This zine consists of photos from the three workshops — history voyage, papermaking, and origami we held in Forres and Glasgow, Scotland in the summer of 2022. In this zine we will unfold a jouney of people, nature, love, care, stories...
I was so delighted f or the o p portunity t o hear people sh aring their stories and re calling intimate memories; to see connections building up amongst people a cross age, gender, nationalities and occupations. I become hopelessly e motional by retracing these moments in my mind, of which the romance f eels like s lowly drowning i nto the unfathomably silky water .
We are the Logbook Collective, and we gathered here to tell you a story.
I have imagined a similar image countless times: when I look out at the sea outside my apartment building, or when I listen to Robinson Crusoe at bedtime as a c hild, the w ater a lways remains a friendly yet unfamiliar distance from me.
It was not un til I raised my sails and tr ied to f eel the humidity in the air, the spongey peat unde rn eath m y f eet, and the r ough h orse h oove f ungi at the tip of my fingers, that the dew of my heart merged into a stream. U n hurriedly, it c arried the canoe o f memories i nto the u nknown, and there I find where I belong .
STRE MA ASTRE M A
Growing up often I lived in my grandma’s house, a garden named HuiLong Tan 汇龙潭 was sitting directly opposite to our neighberhood. The garden was centered around a pond, which all the way connected to the moat. I remember going to the garden after school; sometimes it’s the meeting pont for me and my childhood friends, it’s a place we hung around, laughing and chasing after each other.
Pond water has great qulities. They are serene, peaceful, reflecting everything around it, for HuiLong pond, it’s greeny all year around. In the summer or spring, the boats sit aside at the banks, waiting for children or naughty adults to get on for a ride. Next to the garden, there stands a Confucian temple. I was growing up seeing the statue of Confucius. A statue stays still and watches time changing. The name of the Confucian temple, 孔庙, written in Chinese calligraphy was carved on a magnificent stone arch, seemingly appeared to be a sign seperating the garden and the temple.
OF WONDER
LET’S TALK ABOUT THE STORIES OF PEOPLE ON THE SUBJECT OF WATER ACROSS THE WORLD!
Name: Amy (Ziyue)
Origin: Shanghai, China
Discovered at : Glasgow
Not only we’re closer to our surroundings, but also we’ve generated a deeper understanding of the Scottish culture and the Scottish people.
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A bond was hence imprinted in my mind. Now, if I were to look at the loch again, I would have an image of people from the past and today. When I think of the Loch of Blairs, a picture of workers playing curling on the brittle ice has become part of my fond memories.
Turn the head, and close your eyes. We switch to look at the canal. Bridges closed and split up. Coal factories, cotton mills, a voice from the Glas Gu people, is quietly singing to me, ‘our beloved Green Place’.
On this journey, tracing back to a time these water has experienced, we witnessed the changes of the dazzling industrial era, in which history and stories gradually unfold to us.
People sometimes ask, ‘why do we need to know history? ‘
We’ve got the answer for you.
Bodies of water we explored
Loch of Blairs is approximately 11 hectares in area and sits in the north-western area of Altyre Estate , lying close to the town of Forres in Moray.
Do you know that loch is actually the Scottish Gaelic, Scots and Irish word for a lake or sea inlet ?
loch
of blairs
Canal is a human-made waterway that allows boats and ships to pass from one body of water to another. Canals are also used to transport water for irrigation and other human uses. For example, there are various types of vessels carrying cargoes such as timber, grain, sugar, textiles and coal.
Just like amphibious animals, a place not only relies on water but also land at the same time; a place closely connects living things with non-living things.
Forth and Clyde Canal
Welcome on board with us on the Forth and Clyde Canal.
We are now on a special leisure boat from Glasgow to Forres. The voyage will last for 30 days. During the voyage, we will use a special calender here.
Why? Historically, sailors would spent most of their time on the ship, as a matter of fact, their life is usuallly quite dull and repetitive, thus a day on the ship is extreamly long. We want to remind you these days, so today, our voyage will be counted as 30 days!
The idea of connecting the firths of the Forth and Clyde Canal was first mooted in 1724 by the famous novelist of Robinson Crusoe, Daniel Defoe.
The Forth and Clyde Canal was first opened in 1790. It’s the world’s first man-made sea-to-sea canal and the biggest single construction venture undertaken in Scotland at the time, with the aim of opening up transport and trade links into the city.
River Findhorn
One of the longest rivers in Scotland. It flows into the Moray Firth on the north coast. It has one of the largest non-firth estuaries in Scotland. It further connects with the North Sea.
Moray Firth
Forres F in dhorn
B a y
Name: Grace
Origin: Aberdeen, Scotland
Discovered at : Forres
Self-Description: Curious?
Playing as a child into a pond and falling in- almost drowning. Being in the sea….Clear, clear waves
Floating joy…. rock foot fascination! How has that shaped me? Still curious.. A living breathing place.. A world that fascinates me I still love looking, seeing, being where I can enjoy nature–in and around. I love wild swimming. What’s the water source?/ Mainly sea… But where there’s a glean...Mostly clean Preserve water sources little minimal, revise.
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Name: Joy
Origin: Zhuhai, China
Discovered at : Forres
Self-Description:
My hometown is a coastal city. I live near the sea since I was young.
We compared the water from the Loch of Blairs in Forres and the water from the Forth and Clyde Canal in Glasgow.
We noticed some apparent colour differences between them.
The ‘light yellow’ of the Loch’s sample comes from peat.
Peat is the surface organic layer of a soil that consists of partially decomposed organic matter, derived mostly from plant material.
Did you know!
They are typical and common in the forests of highlands in Scotland.
TELL US ABOUT YOU
Name:
Origin:
Discovered at :
Self-Description:
Name: Ahmed
Origin: Pakistan
Discovered at : Forres
Self-Description:
In Pakistan, during the winter we often play in water. The ice forms a shallow layer on the surface of the river, me and my friends, we used to walk on those ice, and we would watch each other to see how far we can get to before the ice breaks and we drop into the water.
People like to do that, it was risky but worthy for the fun.
Name: Horse Hoof Fungi
Discovered at : Forres
Name: Xiang
Origin: Wuxi, Jiangsu, China
Discovered at : Forres
Self-Description:
When I was about four or five years old, I lived by Taihu (Tai River). One day, me and my mother, we were walking along the river, there was a one-meter squared area covered by water lilies and reeds. I thought it was flat, it turned out to not be. I was grabbing the concrete ground for five minutes, it was then my mom found out that her daughter was left behind. After that experience, I grew up with the fear of the water until now. Since then I remembered - water is deeper than you thought .
Mushrooms come after the rain, water nourish lives and enrich our leisure time, you can even do curling if the ice is thick enough.
Name: Weronika
Origin: Kraków, Poland
Discovered at : Forres
Self-Description:
In Poland, during Christmas, people eat carp. You can buy it ready, but also some people buy it alive and they do the whole preparation themselves. So when I was with my grandparents, we used to keep that carp in their bathtubs while they were still alive. I was feeding it sugar and playing with it. One day I came back and there’s no carp in the bathtub, I asked my grandpa ‘where did it go?’ , and he said ‘they escape to the river’. Because we live very close to a small river, I thought the bathtub and river actually connect somehow. A few years later, I realized what really happened.
Loch of Blairs,
Name: Julia
Origin: England
Discovered at : Forres
Self-Description:
As a child, I used to live in Dyke, We had a burn quite close to the house. In the summer holidays, I used to wild camping with a friend. We would go on adventures, it seemed like we were going to the wilderness miles away, but was only about a half mile from the house. I used to load up my dad’s wheel barrel, we would set up camp by the river, we would pretend to be the famous five (by Enid Blyton). We were two of the famous five, we would fantasize about being on adventures and things we would get up to. To keep our food cool, we used to tie string and hang things in the water that was our fridge to keep cool.
Name: Lurid Bolete 传说中的见手青
Origin : Native to Europe
Discovered at : Forres
Name: Jenny
Origin: England
Discovered at : Forres
Self-Description:
I was brough up in an area in England that flooded frequently and enjoyed, when young, walks to see how far the floods came.
I have always wanted to live near water and although only in an administrative roll worked for many years for thame water and learnt a lot from people who actually worked in the industry. They also participated in water related coversation projects. In this area we are close to the sea but also there are many rivers in the area.
Generally the water is clean but would not want to drink it.
Name: Elaine
Origin: England
Discovered at : Forres
Self-Description:
I grew up by the coast. Childhood holidays at the seaside are the source of some of my most enduring memories and love for the coast. As soon as I see the sea I feel like running into the water. I know I’ll never grow out of that excitement. The taste of salt in the air, the feel of the wind on my face, the promise of a year hours with nothing to do but be in the moment. The sounds of the waves make me feel happier.
Building sand castles and playing rounders or a game of cricket, I look back with fond memories. The seagulls scrooping down and stealing ice-creams or chips from the unexpecting victims. The coast, sights and sounds always take me back to happy seaside times. Walking past a seaside chip shop always makes me feel nostalgic. The smell of the salty sea air you realise just how much you miss it once you’ve left it. A winter walk along the beach - the beach visit just amazing in the summer. Listening to the waves crashing down. Its year-round charm is imprinted on my memories. Seaside attractions, ice-creams always taste more delicious when at the coast.
Swimming in the sea water is so much more enjoyable than being in a swimming pool. Beachcombing, looking at unusual pebbles, collecting fossils and pieces of driftwood that look like sculptures is something I still do and enojoy.
Feeling the sand between your toes. Bare feet in the sand has a satisfication like no other. Whenever, I do this it takes me back to my childhood and happy memories.
Name: Gordon
Origin: Moray, Scotland
Discovered at : Forres
Self-Description:
My dad loved water, or more accurately, swimming in water- sea and loch- a ‘dook’ as we would say in Moray Dorie ( Scots lanugage). His pleasure he passes on to me, first in childhood but continuing as an adult.
I got used to the cold water in Scotland. I have often lived near to water(river and sea) near in Findhorn, beside the bay .
Swimming is not the only activity I like of when memorising water. I have sailed in small boats, large yachts, ferries. Sea kayaked, wind surfed, fished.
I have ‘ worked ‘ too in water - the British Waterways. I remember my first ‘formal’ adventure, to a canal swim in Birmingham, wildly, passimg through a red door in a stone wall to go back in time.
More recently, I travelled to Falkirk to see the Kelpies and ride on the Falkirk Wheel - a good day out.
RECONNECT
Name: Jiaqi
Origin: ShenZhen, China
Discovered at : Glasgow
Self-Description:
高高的的楼宇傍海，窗外一阵腥臭的海风预 示着热浪的到来。水于我，只是窗外的风 景，书本中船形势的基础，还有我名字中用 来抵消过剩的五行之土，火的一个偏旁。 如果有人问起我生长的地方，我会说出最熟 面，最符合地理课本的回答，是的，他是一 个滨海城市，经济特区，科技中心, 但在那 之外的一切事物，就似都与我无关，这里我 浅称它为远房亲戚也不为过。偶尔我会听到 它的消息，但大多的时候都不是什么喜欢的 事。它总是乱吃东西，消化不良引起胃酸， 阴冷的天气则是会加剧这种情况。
I was born and raised in a coastal city, lying right next to me is not river but sea. It is absolutely filthy, that only time I went to a garbage picking event, I’ve had enough. Not only that I see a ton of trash in between the gaps of the shore stones, but also because I live so closely, I smell the trash every day when I open up the window. Even though there were plenty of protocols put into practice to mitigate the situation, it is not compliant to the growing population.
Name: Maddy
Origin: South Africa
Discovered at : Glasgow
Self-Description:
I live beside the sea, have a strong connection with watertides, water conditions, shipping activity, wildlife, weather conditions.
I can't imagine not living near water, it’s deep whithin my subconscious. I love to see open bodies of water –it is very relaxing on the eyes.
It is lovely to hear the sound of water - gushing, lapping, crashing, gurgling, trickling, swishing, tides going in and out continuously timelessness.
Mememories, Playing, kayaking, taking the Wavelrey, beach holidays, bird watching, dog walking.
The ocean is nearby where I live. Unfortunately, the main issue is pollution from ships and plastic pollution.
Name: Tianyi,
Origin: Shanghai China
Discovered at : Glasgow
Self-Description:
Memories with water:
Picking up shells near the beach.
Enjoying collecting shells in different sizes and shapes.
Ocean in Philippines.
Very clean and clear. I remember the water was light blue and green. But it’s not drinkable.
Ways to preserve the water:
Picking up rubbish floating on the water , and don’t throw wasted things into water, especially plactic.
Take samples of the water regularly and check if there’s any pollution.
Make posters to encourage people take good care of their local water resource.
Name: Yabin
Origin: Shanghai, China
Discovered at : Glasgow
Self-Description:
Memories with water:
There’s always a pond or river or lake in the city/town I grew up and lived. It’s a place I took walks with friends or sat quietly by myself just enjoying the serenity.
Some scary memories:
I was so enticed by the West Lake in Hangzhou that once I felt the urge to walk into it. So silky and mesmerizing at night. Probably not drinkable, but my friends did sneak into the lake and swim.
How has water shaped me?
Never thought of this before. Perhaps I’m just enjoying the loveliness (animanls) and serenity in ways I don’t think about.
Ways to preserve:
Camping along the river + workshops , walking on making water edible, trash plucking.
Memories across the world Retrace
Name: Sophie- anne
Origin: Lyon, France
Self-Description:
Quand j’étais enfant, mon grand-père construisait de petits moulins en bois et les mettait dans l’eau. Je me rappelle combien j’étais excitée, enfant, de voir la froideur de l’eau couler sur mes petits doigts fripés !
When I was a child my grandfather used to build small wooden mills and put them in the water. I remember how excited I was as a child to see the coldness of the water running over my wrinkled little fingers!
Name: Seeva
Origin: Los Angeles, United States
Self-Description:
I made a whole poetry book about water. It’s called Dark Swim.
Name: Weronika
Origin: Kraków, Poland
Self-Description:
My best friend used to live in Bratislava, Slovakia. When I visited her, we talked about life and drunk wine by the Danube. I noticed that it looked almost like Clyde in Glasgow. I could have been moved from Scotland from Slovakia and I wouldn’t notice, because of the shared presence of water.
your memories with water
Name: Ned 宋磊
Origin: Shanghai, China
Self-Description:
上周和小朋友一起玩水枪大战，我率先拿起水枪攻击他们，大家一起跑来反击，一 个非常快乐的场景 ! Last week I played water gun battle with the kids. I picked up the water gun first and attacked them, everyone else came over and beated me back -- such a joyful scene!
Name: Sisi 颜丝穗
Origin: Changsha, Hunan, China
Self-Description:
When I was a child, the activity I mostly looked forward to every year was to go back to my hometown to play in the water. My father would prepare an inflatable kayak for us. The water is shallow, and probably only reached to the thigh. You can clearly see the stones at the bottom of the river. We drifted down the river to a small town where my aunt’s house is located. I don’t remember exactly how long it took, but it would take about an hour to drive. Maybe we didn’t arrive until inthe afternoon, and finally we found a deep little pool, of which the depth is about at my neck level, the water is cold and clea. Summer in the mountains isn’t hot at all, with the water refreshing it is much more brisk.
Later on, I went to Iceland to participate in a marine environmental protection project. We went to a coast and found that the shore was full of garbage floating from the ocean, and there were plastic garbage floating in the sea on the coast, which shocked me. Ten of us were in our group, and we picked up garbage for a few hours, but still, a lot of garbage there couldn’t be cleaned up at this time.
Retrace
When I think of water, the first thing that comes to mind is a river. Sitting on a bench and looking at the calm river gives me peace in mind, especially when I look at the reflection of the sun on the river with my loved one, I feel peaceful and supremely happy. The first thing that came to mind when you asked me to tell you about my memories of water was when I ate waffles with my boyfriend at sunset this spring while looking at the river. It was a perfect day, being with the person I loved, along with the weather, temperature, and humidity that day.
Name:Shi-tao Fan
Origin: Guangzhou, China
Self-Description:
In my given name, water lives. It turns to the shape of wave, when it is written. Taste your tip of the lip, when it is spoken. That’s the sweetness of the sea.
Name: JinYoung
Origin: Korea
Self-Description: 물 하면 강이 제일 먼저 떠올라요. 밴치에 앉아 잔잔한 강을 바라보면 마음이 편안해 지는 데, 특히 사랑하는 이와 함께 강에 비치는 윤슬을 바라보면 평화 롭고 더할 나위 없이 행복함을 느끼죠. 물에 대한 내 기억을 말해 보라할때 가
장 먼저 떠오른 기억은 올해 봄 나 노을이 질쯤 남자친구와 함께 강을 바라보
며 와플을 먹었던 것이 떠올랐어요. 그날의 날씨, 온도, 습도와 함께 나와 함 께 있던 사람마저 완벽했던 하루였으니 까요.
REMEMBER
Papermaking is one of the four great inventions of ancient China. Compared with other writing materials, paper is smooth, white and can be dyed. Easy to cut, flexible and folding, easy to carry and store. Long life, easy to find raw materials, low price. A wide range of applications, both for writing, printing, and packaging materials. These incomparable advantages, make paper spread around the world and soon popular for the people.
Before that, people used oracle bones, metal, stone, bamboo and wood as writing carriers.
The emergence of paper and papermaking
Archaeological excavations show that early paper was made of plant fibers (hemp). That is to say, the paper we make today is of a more traditional and ancient type, dating from about 49 BC in China. The year of its appearance is also found to be earlier than the famous eastern Han Dynasty CAI Lun "paper making". On the basis of predecessors, CAI Lun summarized the experience of manufacturing hemp paper technology and carried out technical innovation, and organized the production of a batch of better-quality hemp paper. At the same time, he made the raw material of paper more widely, promoted the development of papermaking and paper industry. After that, the materials used in papermaking continued to develop and expand, such as broussonetia bark, mulberry bark, rattan bark and bamboo.
T he spread of paper and papermaking
I n China, paper and paper products came first, followed by papermaking technology. Archaeological findings confirm that paper had already spread to Korea as early as the Western Han Dynasty. Korea created vellum, which is characterized by thick, strong and white paper. Around the end of the fourth century, papermaking was introduced to Vietnam. Japanese papermaking has a history of more than a thousand years. It is recorded that Chinese paper and papermaking techniques were introduced to Japan through Korea. Washi culture is still highly valued in Japan today. In the 9th and 10th centuries, papermaking was spread to the Western regions via the Silk Road and then to India, where paper Buddhist scriptures began to appear.
Another saying of the spread of Chinese papermaking technology is that in 751 AD in the 8th century, Tang Dynasty, a person named Gao Xianzhi fought the Battle of Talos against The Kingdom of Da Shi (then Arabia). During the battle, some of the Tang soldiers were captured, including papermakers. The Arabs were always looking for the secrets of paper making, so they sent these craftsmen back home and asked them to teach them the skills, which led to the introduction of Chinese papermaking to Central Asia. Since Samarkand set up a paper market, paper has been selling like hot cakes. When the paper yard opened, Jafar, the prime minister of the Abbasid caliph Harun Rashid, ordered that all official documents be written on paper instead of expensive sheepskin. Later, paper-making spread to North Africa with the expansion of Arab power.
uslim-Christian exchanges led to the widespread use of paper products in Europe around the 11th century. It spread to Spain in the early 12th century, to Italy in the 13th century, to France and Germany in the 14th century and eventually to Europe and The Americas. But by the 17th century, European papermaking was still only at the level of China's Song Dynasty, and it was very different from China's paper making. D uring the Reign of Emperor Qianlong, Jiang Youren, a French painter and Jesuit priest who worked in the Qing Court, sent drawings of Chinese papermaking back to Paris, from which a new generation of Chinese papermaking techniques spread to Europe. In 1797, Nicolas Louis Robert, a Frenchman, overtook China by inventing machine paper to replace manual paper. These hand-drawn sets of meticulous brushwork color paintings show the making and usage of bamboo curtains, artificial drying techniques of wet paper and the use of plant mucus. It introduced at least ten new ideas and techniques of papermaking technology to Europe and greatly promoted the modernization of papermaking technology and paper industry in Europe.
M
The two workshops were held on July 27th and August 4th respectively. Participants of all ages and places learned how to make paper using hand-made techniques, using natural plants from the river. In these workshops, people understand the inseparable relationship between paper and water. Participants were also asked to bring recyclable waste paper to be remade into new and beautiful paper. Through this experience, participants can also increase their awareness of environmental protection.
~
F orres ~
Glasgow
At the end of July, we collected local reeds in Forres and Glasgow - Reeds grow in Loch of Blairs and in Forth and Clyde Canal. We use them as raw materials for papermaking workshops.
Loch of Blairs
~ G lasgow ~
Glasgow sculpture studio
We demonstrated to the participants the complete process of making paper by hand, and gave them enough time to practice and try.
At the same time, participants can also decorate and design their own paper by collecting floral plants along the river and canal.
Process
Making
Decorations & Outcomes
~ Forres ~
~
~ Glasgow
T he Mysterious Origam i
There has b een an o ngoing d ebate on t he e xact o rigin of o rigami, w hile m ost believe that i t o riginated f rom Japan, some said it is an European creation .
F rom J apan's s ide, t here's a ctually n o evidence i ndicating its invention, b ut i t was commonly thought to b e created during t he H eian e ra, r unning f rom 794-1185. O rigami was an e lite c raft, it only started w hen handmade p aper t ec hnique f rom C hina i s brought by t he m onks t o Japan in t he sixth ceremony. It is so luxurious that it can only be seen in religious occasions.
On t he o ther hand, t he earliest evidence i ndicating origami is r ather a European i nvention c ould b e dated back t o a book named, On t he S phere o f the Worl d . It i s a medieval introduction t o the basic e lements of a stronomy w ritten by John of Hollywood during the 13th century, that is when the f irst model of a n origami boat a ppeared. A lso l ater i n the Mid 19th century, G erman pedagogue F riedrich W ilhelm who created the concept of kindergarten, included origami in t he c urriculum as a w ay t o explore beauty, k nowledge and life.
These two o rigins merged together since the Meiji Re storation i n the 19th century, the fusion came t o be t he o rigami we know now.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
If the gate to memory could be larger if communication were no longer static but changing across generations and cultures
Will we realise that we are one
simply because we have belonged to each other from the begin-
Written, Visual, and Conceptual Contributions Throughout From
The Logbook Collective
Wenyi Pan
Weronika Tupaj
Jiaqi Zheng
Ziyue Zhang
Our Participants and Friends
Grace, Joy, Sophie-anne, Ned, Julia, Jenny, Elaine, Gordon, Maddy, Tianyi, Ahmed, Louis, Yabin, Seeva, Weronika, Xiang, Jinyoung, Shitao, Shawn, Sisi, Deena, Fergus
Get in Touch With Us:
Instagram: @ the_logbook_collective
Email: thelogbookcollective@gmail.com
This Zine Is Design and Edited by
Wenyi Pan
Jiaqi Zheng
Ziyue Zhang
Thanks for the stories and feedbacks shared by our participants of the logbook project.
Thank you to our beloved friends who kindly contributed their writings in this zine.
Glasgow School of Ar t (Glasgow Campus and Highlands and Islands Campus), GSA Sustainabiit y, Friends of Blairs Loch, Glasgow Sculpture Studio, Claypits Nature Reserve, PULP: Paper Art s Workshops, and ever yone who joined us on this journey.
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