A still from INSIGHT’s Video 1, projected in the front room—depicting the outer world.
The same still from INSIGHT’s Video 1, seeping through a translucent screen, with Video 2 (left) and Video 3 (right) in the back room—depicting the inner world.
Please read the text and description in the order presented to fully understand the core intent of the project.
INsight
A Three-Channel Video and Spatial Installation
Funded by BC Arts Council and currently in development, INSIGHT dives deep into the reflective practice as taught in Ancient Eastern Psychology, inviting viewers to experience an inner transformation through Roger's multi-year self-documentation.
This project echoes a Zen Buddhist quote: 'Before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood, carry water.' While external actions (doing) may appear unchanged, the internal awareness (being) undergoes a profound shift- a transformation INSIGHT seeks to explore.
In 2015, Roger began an extended self-documentation to investigate the root of lifelong anxiety, using a camera to objectively observe his relationship with work. He filmed himself working solo on labour-intensive, self-taught projects on the land and reviewed the recorded footage at night. Over more than four years, he accumulated over 3,000 hours of documentation in photos, time-lapses, and video.
Filming himself led to natural behavioural shifts—work slowed, but presence and contentment grew. Frequent pauses to adjust the camera to changing conditions widened his focus, making him more aware of subtle events like breezes and bird chirping. Over time, this reduced his sense of lack. Consistently reviewing footage at night further altered his perspective, shifting his awareness from an isolated, task-driven mindset to seeing himself as part of a larger environment. He came to recognize that his relentless drive for skill acquisition was rooted in ingrained inadequacy, shaped by a critical upbringing.
Author Echart Tolle wrote: "Doing is never enough if you neglect Being."
INSIGHT will immerse viewers in a spatial environment integrating video, animations, sculpture, and objects, depicting both inner and outer worlds. While the external 'doing' remains constant, the internal 'being' reflects shifts between preoccupation and presence, offering a contemplative space to explore psychological transformation through self-awareness.
INSIGHT builds on I Am The One Man Show | 我 是場獨角戲, a video projection introducing Roger’s documentation. This work debuted on December 22, 2018, at the Outdoor Plaza of the Pingtung Performing Arts Center in Pingtung, Taiwan, Roger’s birth city and hometown.
Below are selected video and animation clips, along with a model of the spatial environment, illustrating the installation’s layout and viewing experience.
Installation Framework and Credits follow below.
Above: A selected clip from INSIGHT’s Video 1, projected in the front room—depicting the outer world.
Above: The same selected clip from INSIGHT’s Video 1, seeping through a translucent screen, is synchronized with Videos 2 (left) and 3 (right) in the back room—depicting the inner world. Video 2, created from work notes, focuses solely on task completion, while Video 3 shifts attention to the surrounding environment. This mirrors Roger’s experience—his awareness shifting between a fixation on work and a broader sense of presence. A thin wall with a tapered shelf on each side divides the back room (see model), but it is not shown here.
Above: Front Room (Outer World): The viewer enters the space through the front room, where they encounter a chair—designed and made by Roger—facing Video 1, symbolizing self-observation through self-filming.
Above: Back Room (Inner World): Two animations play on opposite walls. A thin wall with a tapered shelf on each side partially divides the space in the middle.
The thin wall represents the fine line between mental states, enabling dynamic viewing. It invites the audience to move between perspectives, noticing how focus and awareness shift—and how these shifts can be a conscious choice.
Above: Objects placed on each side of the thin wall’s shelf ground the experience in the physical world: tools on the left and found natural objects on the right.
This is the viewer’s perspective when standing behind the thin wall in the middle of the back room, observing Roger performing the same task on screen but with different mindsets. This view reflects the Zen saying: Chop wood, carry water—the actions remain the same, but perception changes.
Even when the body stays busy, the mind doesn’t have to be.
Installation Framework
Format: Three synchronized video projections
Duration: 9-minute loop per video.
Conceptual Framework Summary:
The following is a recap of the conceptual framework already detailed alongside the videos and images above. If you've read the descriptions, this will be familiar.
The viewer enters the Front Room (Outer World) and first encounters a chair facing Video 1. The chair represents the gaze of consciousness, engaging in self-observation through self-filming. The projection screen is translucent, allowing Video 1 to seep into the Back Room (Inner World).
In the Back Room, two animations play on opposite walls. A thin wall with tapered shelves partially divides the space. One video focuses solely on task completion, while the other shifts attention to the surrounding environment. This mirrors Roger’s experience—his awareness shifts between a fixation on work and a broader sense of presence.
The thin wall symbolizes the fine line between mental states. It invites dynamic viewing, encouraging the audience to move between perspectives and observe how focus and awareness shift—and that they can be a choice.
The Back Room reflects the Zen saying: Chop wood, carry water—where actions remain the same, but perception transforms. Even when the body stays busy, the mind doesn’t have to be.
Objects placed on each side of the thin wall ground the experience in the physical world.
Adaptability: The three-channel projections can be adapted into a single-channel format by combining all three videos into one. This format is ideal for showcasing the video independently, without the integration of sculpture, objects, and spatial design.
Credits
INSIGHT is funded by the BC Arts Council in Canada.
We acknowledge the contributions of Dr. Heesoon Bai and Dr. Avraham Cohen, both scholars and psychotherapists, who were engaged as consultants to support our research discussions related to INSIGHT. We also thank Dr. Zuzana Vasko, an artist-scholar and educator, for her thoughtful presence and participation in the discussion.