“Pyrographic calligraphy”

This series of work explores a new process for calligraphy practices called Pyrographic technique in which hot molten glass are gathered and used as a drawing medium to created burnt marks on paper. Traditional hand written calligraphy is then applied to the work, responding to the aesthetics of the burnt marks and the contexts of the words being written

‘SCIENCE’ (Design4Science exhibition)

This large piece of work was created for the ‘Design4Science’ exhibition curated by Shirley Wheeler from the University of Sunderland. The artwork integrates digital media and calligraphic processes to visually interpret aspects of science. The research led to the use a calligraphic font ‘Impetuous’ that was designed by Ling. The text used was taken from Fred Sanger, the twice recipient of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry. The work addresses the question of how to visually interpret science with calligraphy? Ling’s outcome was to draw a parallel between geometric calligraphic forms and that of viral structures

‘Calligraphy Across Boundaries’

This series of work involves Ling’s research into cross-cultural contexts with calligraphy. His research includes peer review articles for calligraphy journals, conference paper and a collaborative book and exhibition project. Ling asks the question of what aspects of different cultural traditions (particularly from East Asia) can be applied to Western calligraphy? He uses philosophical methodology stemmed from the tacit and intuitive approaches to calligraphy inspired by the first canon of painting “Chi Yun Shen Tung” (Rhythimic Vitality) by the Chinese artist Hiseh Ho (AD 479-502). Ling wrote a peer-reviewed article for the Calligraphy and Lettering Arts Society (CLAS). The article was later translated into Finnish for the calligraphy journal ‘Sulkanen’, published by Kalligrafia in Finland. He also disseminated his findings via an international calligraphy conference paper at the University of Kankaanpaa in Finland. He is currently involved in the ‘Lindisfarne Book Project’ to co-inside with the arrival of the Lindisfarne Gospel to the region in the summer of 2013. This involves an exhibition at the Design Centre Gallery where the historical connections between the Lindisfarne Gospels, Egyptian Coptic Art and Islamic Calligraphy will be on display. In addition to this, pages from the collaborative ‘Lindisfarne Book Project’ will also be on display. The exhibition is also part of the Writing 2013 International Calligraphy Symposium to be held at St. Aiden’s College in The University of Durham

“Inscapes of Beauty” (from ‘Their Colours and their Forms’ exhibition)

Manny Ling has created a body of calligraphy work specifically for the group exhibition ‘Their Colours and Their Forms’ at the Wordsworth Museum. The main focus for the work is to develop a visual response to Wordsworth’s poetry through calligraphy writing with cross-cultural approaches. Some of the work is also the result of the collaboration with the eminent poet and Professor of English, John Strachan. By drawing parallels from Wordsworth and Strachan’s poetry, Ling has developed a new and unique calligraphy script in order to visually interpret their poetry. He has also explored the cross-cultural contexts of Wordsworth’s poetry by using traditional Chinese calligraphy materials, techniques and aesthetics. Through close collaboration with the curators of the museum, the editors and collaborating artists, he also designed the catalogue for the exhibition

Wordsworth & Basho—Walking Poets

‘Wordsworth and Basho: Walking Poets’ is a group exhibition based in the Wordsworth Trust, in Grasmere, UK. The exhibition builds on momentum developed through previous collaborations between the Wordsworth Trust, the University of Sunderland and Bath Spa University, in which a range of contemporary artists created fresh and challenging perspectives on Wordsworth’s poetry and Basho's work. Dr Manny Ling collaborated with the Japanese sumi painter Christine Flint Sato and produced a series of work that explored East Asian and western contexts. Dr Manny Ling also designed and curated the exhibition catalogue (ISBN: 978-1-906832-20-9

Crossing Boundaries, The Calligraphic Work of Manny Ling

This is an exhibition catalogue for a solo major exhibition by Dr Manny Ling. Accompanying the publication are two essays written by Professor John Strachen, a poet and Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Bath Spa University, and Dr Diego Navarro from the University of Carlos III in Madrid, Spain. 23 pieces of work are presented in this publication in full colour. The exhibition addresses the exploration and research conducted by Dr Manny Ling over the last decade on the contexts of cross-cultural calligraphy between East and West

'My Word' International Calligraphy Exhibition, Askøy, Norway, February 2014.

An exhibition of international calligraphy curated by Bas Vlam at the Gallery Askøy in Askøy, Norway, during March 2014. The exhibition hosts works of 24 artists from UK, Japan, France, Russia, Italy, Sweden, Holland, Germany and Norway. A printed catalogue is available

Rethinking Digital Futures: NEoN Mini Symposium

The NEoN Festival mini-symposium this year is focused on the intersection of tradition and craft with the digital transformation of art and design. Artists participating in the festival will reflect on their own processes, demonstrating influences of ways of working from the disparate and shared heritage practices of the North East of North Asia including Taiwan, Japan, Hong Kong, China and South Korea. While the West often looks to the East for visions of the future in the form of science fiction or new intelligent robotic gadgets it is also in the east where tradition is more keenly understood and practiced, with NEoN festival featuring works in hand drawn animation, shadow puppetry, and poetry. How do artists and designers sustain their inherited traditional practices in a time of digital transformation - with audiences ever-shortening attention spans, networked memory, and a reliance on mediated digital assets to tell the story for us? Our global interconnectedness means we are influenced as much by what is going on on the other side of the globe as by what is happening in their own neighbourhood. This symposium will address how cultural influence affects making, how artistic traditions mutate, while shining a critical light on the practices of artists and designers working within a digitally transformed worldview. Supported by the AHRC Digital Transformations Theme Leader Fellowshi

Writing 2017: International Calligraphy Symposium

International Calligraphy Symposium is an bi-annual event organized by the International Research Centre for Calligraphy (IRCC) at the University of Sunderland, UK

Calligraphy Across Boundaries

The research uses Burgert (1998) and Brody Neuenschwander’s (2000) ideas of the ‘Linear Graphic’ to explore the creative and expressive qualities of the line. In addition, the characteristics of Ch’i are also analysed and identified. This is achieved by exploring and interpreting classic Chinese principles such as ‘Ch’i Yuen Shen Tung’ (Rhythmic Vitality), ‘Harmony of the Mind and Hand’ and ‘Stilling the Heart’. As a result, new approaches of ‘Simplicity’ and ‘Spontaneity’ have been developed for Western calligraphy. These approaches demonstrate the requirement of the control and integrity of the calligrapher. The research also places emphasis on the development of one’s ‘self-being’ to cultivate the internal and external aspects of calligraphy. This is achieved through the creation of calligraphy pieces as part of this developmental process. Digital media are also explored by using these same principles and approaches. New characteristics and processes such as ‘Layering’, ‘Reusability’ and ‘Simplicity and Complexity’ in print based calligraphy, as well as ‘Dynamism’, ‘Customisability’, ‘Impermanence’ and ‘Interactivity’, in computational calligraphy have emerged as a result