留白 (Liubai) at a Hushed Sanctuary: Layered Reflections on an Artist Residency

Abstract

Considering that silence has long been intertwined with ritual and spiritual practice, we explore how digital technology might support silence thereby allowing space for reflection, attunement, and meaning-making. How does the Chinese aesthetic concept of liubai(留白,“empty space”) open up new ways of designing for noticing and reflection? In this paper, we present lived experiences of shared silence and meditation within a one-month artist residency. By weaving together field study with interview data, first-person inquiry and artistic artefacts, we offer empirical insights at the intersection of art, spirituality, and HCI. Through this study, the residency became a site to both experiment with artistic practice and explore silence as a positive and creative practice for attentive noticing. We discuss dwelling in the in-between, the art of liubai in design, a technical inward turn, and posthuman perspectives to inform a design agenda for techno-spirituality with broader implications for future research in HCI.