‘The Bao A Qu’
2022
The ‘Bao A Qu’ is a mythological creature descibed in Jorge Luis Borges’s 1967 book of Imagiary Beings.
According to its mythology, the Bao A Qu lives on the steps of the Tower of Victory in Chitor, India. There it
waits on the first step for a man brave enough to try to climb up. Until that point, it lies sleeping, indistinguishable
and translucent, until someone passes. When one starts to climb the steps the creature wakes, and follows close
behind. As it progresses further up, it becomes more visible and colourful, but it only reaches perfection when the
climber reaches the top of the tower. Almost all the time, the climber cannot reach the top, for they are not perfect
either. The A Bao A Qu realizes this and it hangs back, losing color and visibility, and tumbles back down the staircase
until it reaches the bottom, once more a hollow, shapeless creature.
Development Sketches and Iteration