The 溪 are a 動 mystery, 分秒鮮活. Theirs is the 天機 of continuous 造物 and all that 天意 implies: the uncertainty of 視覺, the 要不得 of the fixed, the dissolution of the 眼前, the 纖密 of beauty, the pressure of 繁殖力, the 捉摸不定 of the free, and the flawed 本質 of perfection.

The 山 are a 靜 mystery, 最古老的. Theirs is the one simple 天機 of 造物 from 無, of matter 本身, anything at all, the given. 山 are giant, 安憩的, absorbent. You can 傾投 your 心靈 into a 山 and the 山 will keep it, 合攏, and 並不 throw it back as some 溪 will. The 溪 are the 世界 with all its stimulus and 美; I live there. But the 山 are 家.

Original English text

The creeks ... are an active mystery, fresh every minute. Theirs is the mystery of continuous creation and all that providence implies: the uncertainty of vision, the horror of the fixed, the dissolution of the present, the intricacy of beauty, the pressure of fecundity, the elusiveness of the free, and the flawed nature of perfection.

The mountains ... are a passive mystery, the oldest of all. Theirs is the one simple mystery of creation from nothing, of matter itself, anything at all, the given. Mountains are giant, restful, absorbent. You can heave your spirit into a mountain and the mountain will keep it, folded, and not throw it back as some creeks will. The creeks are the world with all its stimulus and beauty; I live there. But the mountains are home.”

by Annie Dillard From Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, Chapter 1

Since nature is elusive, to photograph is to understand. For the sake of time, nature’s face changes every second, like being masked by a veil blown by the breeze, yet photography stops time and gives Cherney a chance to unveil the fleeting beings. To hike is to do the same by creating a narrative of nature, which Annie Dillard carves in her travelogue as a dichotomy that excavates the ontological taxonomy of beings as mobile and stable.

Dillard divides her understanding into two: the mobile creek and the still mountain, which Cherney adopts into two panels of calligraphy attached to two photos. Yet Cherney’s photos do not engage the two concepts individually, but present their coexistence in nature while rendering each of them a focus. Cherney’s creek runs through the stable stones and landscapes, and his mountain sits below the fleeting rain and clouds, where the mobility runs through stability and also embraces it, coexisting in nature.

Cherney mounts his calligraphy on the extensions of his landscapes, taking the mobility of the creek in the curves and the stillness of the mountain in the thickness, inviting his understanding of nature to the brush. Cherney’s bilingual translation of Dillard’s text further aids his representation of nature as a unity of differences. By uniting languages in one text, he yearns for a coexistence of cultures that function like the creek and the mountain, lingering with each other into a cultural landscape that further merges with nature.

由于自然难以琢磨，摄影亦即领悟。时间流转，自然的面孔一秒一变，如被微风吹动的面纱所掩。然而摄影暂停了时间，使秋麦得以洞见稍纵即逝的存在。行于山野亦如是，是以叙事逻辑参自然，正如安妮·迪拉德于游记中雕出的二分法，挖掘出事物亦动亦静的本体论分类。

迪拉德将她的理解分为两个概念：流动的溪水和静止的山峦。秋麦则将之转写为两幅书法与两张摄影相附。然而，他并未将两个概念孤立处理，而是呈现它们在自然中的共在，同时各自作为视觉中心。镜头中，流动的溪水穿过静止的山石，而山脉也稳坐于流云骤雨之下；动穿行于静，又索绕静，共存于自然中。

秋麦将书法装置于山水的延伸处，于弯折中取溪之动感，于厚笔中纳山之静态，邀他对自然的理解至笔端。对迪拉德文本的双语转译也进一步助于他对自然中求同存异的表达。通过将两种语言合于一处，他所寄望的文化共存如溪与山彼此依偎，化为一个与自然相容的文化景观。