Self-Quarantine in Beijing: Episode 2, Noticing
I’ve been illustrating this “Self-Quarantine in Beijing” series for a month now. This second episode is called “Noticing.” When the whole world stops, things start to slow down like flakes in a snow globe. The mundanity of objects surrounding us starts to become exciting again. I hope that the fun I had making these drawings can translate to the other side of the screen.
Hi, I’m Donal. Just Donal.
你好，我叫大拿
Nǐ hǎo, wǒ jiào dà ná
Self-quarantine brings contemplation.
You never know what things you might start noticing.
自我隔离会给我各种启发。我会开始观察。
Zìwǒ gélí huì gěi wǒ gè zhǒng qǐfā. Wǒ huì kāishǐ guānchá
Duck Feet (鸭脚板儿 yā jiǎobǎn’r)
For instance, I’ve noticed that all of my nicknames in the past have had to do with ducks and birds.
I’m French, and in the main Sichuanese dialect, “Frenchie” sounds like “duck palms.”
比如观察到我以前所有的名字都跟鸟类有关系（唐老，云鹤，鸭脚板）
Bǐrú guānchá dào wǒ yǐqián suǒyǒu de míngzì dōu gēn niǎo lèi yǒu guānxì (táng lǎo, yún hè, yā jiǎobǎn)
我在四川叫“鸭脚板儿”（法国娃儿）
Wǒ zài sìchuān jiào “yā jiǎobǎn er”(fàguó wá er)
Baby Donal Hatching (小大拿出壳 xiǎo dà ná chū ké)
Even the place where I live now — China — takes the shape of a big bird: a rooster.
法国代表动物是公鸡，中国地图也像一头鸡。
Fàguó dàibiǎo dòngwù shì gōngjī, zhōngguó dìtú yě xiàng yītóu jī
I’ve also started noticing little things around the house.
除了在床上做梦以外，还会观察到家里的各种细节。
Chúle zài chuángshàng zuòmèng yǐwài, hái huì guānchá dào jiālǐ de gè zhǒng xìjié
A strand of hair (一根头发站在了墙上 yī gēn tóufǎ zhàn zàile qiáng shàng)
^ Looking like the Zen symbol for infinity
Cracks (墙上的纹理 qiáng shàng de wénlǐ)
^ Beautiful cracks on the tiles of my wall, reminiscent of the split nature of reality.
墙上瓷砖的纹路有多美。
Qiáng shàng cízhuān de wénlù yǒu duō měi
And I’ve begun to get experimental with…whatever I have:
还会开始用菜做一些实验：
Hái huì kāishǐ yòng cài zuò yīxiē shíyàn
Growing flowers out of scallion sprouts (大葱花 dà cōnghuā)
Universes expand out of other universes, reminding us of the wonders of life.
Experiment No. 2 (第2个实验 dì 2 gè shíyàn)
Did you know that new cabbage can grow out of older cabbage?
你原来知道白菜上可以继续长白菜吗？
Nǐ yuánlái zhīdào báicài shàng kěyǐ jìxù zhǎng báicài ma?
Trivial things can bring us such happiness.
2020.02.22 (2月22，萝卜鸡蛋节日 2yuè 22, luóbo jīdàn jiérì)
From now on, I will celebrate Carrots & Eggs Day on February 22.
餐厅是没见过胡萝卜鸡蛋这道菜，希望是我发明的
Cāntīng shì méi jiànguò húluóbo jīdàn zhè dào cài, xīwàng shì wǒ fāmíng de
A whole month spent at home, and one can almost become a philosopher.
在家里闷出一些哲学问题出来
Zài jiālǐ mèn chū yīxiē zhéxué wèntí chūlái
Why do people always have to move? (人为什么需要动呢？rén wéi shén me xūyào dòng ne?)
And start to look like one:
Philosopher’s beard (哲学家的胡子 zhéxué jiā de húzi)
胡子也慢慢留的像哲学家：存在
Húzi yě màn man liú de xiàng zhéxué jiā: Cúnzài
While noticing the small details, and focusing on them, it’s hard not to contemplate the large and profound.
Eventually, we begin questioning existence itself.
Spiraling Universe of Black Pepper Dust (黑胡椒制作的宇宙 hēi hújiāo zhìzuò de yǔzhòu)
Self-Quarantine in Beijing is a series of illustrations by Donal Turner. Previously:
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