A responsive website that turns the ancient art of Chinese face reading into an interactive musical experience. Learning CSS, the artist noticed how both CSS and physiognomy rely on exact positioning to create meaning — an element only works when precisely placed; a mole's meaning depends entirely on its location on the face. Here, facial marks become musical notes: left-to-right position selects the note, top-to-bottom sets the volume, and shape and skin tone change the timbre. A small rebellion against systems that assign fixed meanings to our bodies — when a mark makes music instead of a verdict, you take back your own story.
Face Notation
Interactive
A responsive website where marks placed on the face become musical notes — left-to-right selects the note, top-to-bottom the volume. Click, drag, or resize the window to play.
Exhibition
The piece shown as an installation, played by visitors in the gallery.
Workshop
From Chinese Face-Reading to Personal Soundscapes — a 90-minute workshop (8–12 participants) held at garage: language(s). Participants begin with Chinese mole-reading traditions, then map their own facial features through the interface, where mole positions become pitches, sizes set volume, and shapes change timbre. As people manipulate their browser windows, individual 'face music' layers into spontaneous group performances — turning a solitary fortune-telling practice into collaborative music-making. Rather than accepting predetermined readings of our bodies, participants learn to author their own meanings, closing with a collective listening session.
