Yī hào mén. Door Number One

门 Mén. Sān lián huà.  Door. Triptych.

3 views of 3 doors in 3 positions in the Forbidden City on 3rd January. The Mén san lian hua – Door triptych – explores the deep duality and symbolism of both the number three and the door in Chinese culture, traditionally representative of transition, protection and the boundary between realms of existence.

A view of a distant open door in the Inner Palace of the Forbidden City, the private quarters of the Imperial family, it’s concubines and servants. An open door and the number one signify new beginnings and opportunity but also denote loneliness and isolation. For members of the imperial household it was not the City that was forbidden, but the outside world. Many would be born, live and die behind the walls of the Forbidden City in these comparatively humble buildings.

 2025. Pen. Ink. Watercolour. On paper. 29 x 20 cm