NTH TERM

LIFE CAN BE CONCEPTUALISED AS A SERIES OF SEQUENCES, EACH UNIQUE TO THE INDIVIDUAL. WHILE SOME SEQUENCES MAY BE SIMILAR, NO TWO ARE IDENTICAL. THE CHALLENGE IS DISCOVERING THE EXPRESSION FOR ONE’S NTH TERM—THE FORMULA THAT UNDERPINS ONE’S LIFE AND DETERMINES HOW IT UNFOLDS.

MANY AVOID THIS TASK, INSTEAD ADOPTING FORMULAS ASSIGNED TO THEM OR COPYING OTHERS. BUT SINCE THESE FORMULATIONS ARE NOT INTERNALLY DEVISED, THEY FAIL TO FULLY ACCOUNT FOR WHO WE ARE AS INDIVIDUALS. CODE-SWITCH IS MY ATTEMPT TO EXPRESS MY NTH TERM—A PRACTICAL TEST OF THIS HYPOTHESIS.

THE INDIVIDUALS I’VE STUDIED HAVE ALL SYNTHESISED THEIR OWN GUIDING FORMULAS—A COMMON DENOMINATOR THAT UNIFIES THEIR LIFE’S WORK. LEONARDO DA VINCI’S WAS NATURE, VIRGIL ABLOH’S WAS IRONY. THE QUESTION I AM INVESTIGATING IS WHAT MINE WILL BE.