The English word ‘translation’ originates from the Latin translatio, composed of trans- (‘across’ or ‘beyond’) and -latus (‘to carry’ or ‘to bring’). In Chinese characters, translation is ‘翻譯’. ‘翻’, like a bird flying, means ‘reversal’ and ‘crossing’. ‘譯’ means ‘transforming language, conveying true meaning’. Translation is a process—understanding, encountering, exploring, transcending, transforming, surviving, and securing a sense of safety. It is more than language; it is an act of becoming, a mosaic of adaptation and resilience. For queer lives, ‘translation’ is a repetitive, creative, and at times violent process—one that must both ‘reveal’ the cracks in oppression and ‘interpret’ the possibilities yet unspoken. Translation also means the search for existence, expression, creation, de/construction, subversion, resistance, change, interpretation, protection, filtering, loving and being loved, and self-definition. It embodies the constant negotiation between self and world.
Based on the Portuguese-language novel As Noites de Hong Kong São Feitas de Neon by Brazilian author Caio Yurgel, Queer Reads Library suggested an experimentation on collective queer translation and annotation, not only using AI technology, but also inviting artists and translators from Hong Kong, Macao, Spain, and Colombia to explore translation as an intersectional, decentralized, and poetic practice through zine-making and flash-card production.
The translation and annotation processes navigated multiple layers of collaboration. Beatrix Pang (Queer Reads Library) proposed a multilingual and queering approach, engaging (queer) artists and translators—Anna Fux, J Triangular, and Swallow Xu—who are fluent in Spanish or Portuguese. These contributors identified keywords and lines in the story that resonated with them linguistically, personally, socially, and politically, then expanded on them through annotations. The results were encapsulated in fifty flash cards featuring curated selections.
Beatrix then invited the ten-member artist collective Writing As Method (WAM) to produce their own translations and annotations based on the adapted materials. WAM experimented with a form of ‘translation’ rooted in materiality and storytelling through zine-making. This process departed from the original text, extending its narrative and imagination through queer sensibility and collective reimagining.
