eau, ile, pierre

In this work, eau, ile, pierre—which translates to water, island, stone—is written with ink on joss paper, a traditional Chinese paper typically burned as an offering to deceased ancestors, and a material that was likely available in New York City where she lived. The work precedes her magnum opus, Dictee (1982), a genre-bending work published a week before she was raped and murdered at the age of thirty-one. Despite her short career, Cha’s work continues to have an enduring impact on artists and writers today.