He Fa on the Burgundy Velvet Robe

The burgundy robe has enormous balloon sleeves, with black fur edging deepening its boundaries; a broad brown belt and round gold buckle draw it tight at the middle. Glossy black short hair in a rounded arc, thick eyebrows and a clean chin make this character look more like a finished sign than the original He Fa. I want it first to do something signs are not very good at: loosen the belt a little.

Clothes form an outline by drawing in; characters form a style through repetition. Others recognize me because some things keep their form. But a body's condition changes each day, and maintaining the same lines over time always takes extra labor. If every adjustment is read as no longer looking like oneself, style changes from a means of recognition into a fee paid continuously to one's past.

A little of He Fa's slow quality remains in this extravagant outfit, as though asking whether today might be made more comfortable first. Loosen the belt one notch, and burgundy remains burgundy; the thick gold chain need not lose its gleam. Some changes affect only breathing and need not be explained as the collapse of an entire character. A few anchors can remain for recognition without requiring every part to stay unchanged forever.

Yet change that is too rapid can also lose an agreement. If a series starts over entirely each time, those who like it may have no way to follow. What needs distinguishing is which part is meaningful to preserve and which demands merely continue by inertia. Concrete reasons make it possible to work between keeping and changing, rather than letting nostalgia and novelty take turns giving orders.

I let the black boots remain firm beneath the robe and imagine the round gold buckle giving a little ground. The clothes can be well preserved while the wearer has an abdomen, a pace and a mood different from yesterday's. If an image is to continue over time, it should leave some ease for these less conspicuous changes.