疫期特別策劃
與12位國際藝術家的對話
Conversations with 12 International Artists
疫情正在全球蔓延，在國際化的今天無論身處何方都能體驗到疫情的殘酷，以及這場事件中對每個人生活的改變。我們將目光投射到異國，對身處異鄉的華裔藝術家或在中國生活多年此刻在母國抗擊疫情的藝術家進行系列訪談。希望通過他們的文字、照片或是影像資料讓我們瞭解此刻他們的所思所想。
The epidemic is spreading all over the world, and in today's international world, no matter where you are, you would experience the cruelty of the epidemic and the changes it has made to everyone's life. We would like to have conversations with Chinese artists having lived abroad for many years and foreign artists back to their homecountries after many years in China. Their words, photographs or images will show what they are viewing and thinking about at the moment.
我們不奢望通過這樣的訪談就能拼湊出此刻全球藝術圈現在進行時這個大拼圖的全貌，但我們寄期望於這一場場對話。至少能幫助我們思考必須面對的那些問題：我們該如何重建人類社會與自然的平衡？如何修復“文明衝突”造成的族群撕裂？而對於個人而言，重要的是對生命、經濟安全的憂慮以及經歷這一次疫病大面積傳染洗禮後，對人性的熱愛，信仰的信任是否依舊堅定？
We wouldn’t say that the interview could grasp the whole picture of global art. We still expect to rethink questions around us: how can we reconstruct the balance of human society and nature? How to fix the "clash of civilizations" caused by community? For individuals, is there room left for love of humanity, the trust of belief, after such an epidemic while confronting possible losses to human society and economy.
策劃：張瑜洋
Curator: Zhang Yuyang
特邀策劃：熊雲皓、蕭尚
Guest Curators: Xiong Yunhao, Xiao Shang
座標：北京
Niamh Cunningham 倪芙瑞蓮
倪芙瑞蓮（愛爾蘭）有著不同尋常的人生軌跡，1989年畢業於阿爾斯特大學並獲得生物醫學專業理學碩士之後，她先後在愛爾蘭、英國、南非、香港、東京、迪拜、布拉格和北京等多個地方旅行和工作。來到中國以前，倪芙瑞蓮在迪拜舉辦了兩次個人展覽，並參與多個公共藝術項目。2014年8月，她在中國的首次個展在北京東嶽美術館舉辦。中央電視臺、北京電視臺，以及愛爾蘭廣播電視臺都報道過她的展覽並播出藝術家訪談節目。
Niamh Cunningham (Ireland) has had an unusual trajectory, after graduating with an MSc in Biomedical Sciences in 1989 from the University of Ulster she has travelled and worked in Ireland , England, South Africa, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Dubai , Prague and Beijing. Before arriving in China she had two solo exhibitions in Dubai where she also engaged in public art projects. Her first solo exhibition in China opened at Beijing’s Dong Yue Art Museum in August, 2014. Over the years her exhibitions and interviews have been featured on CCTV, Beijing TV and RTE.
2012年-2016年，倪芙瑞蓮與飛揚戈恩合作，為在中國舉辦的愛爾蘭文化節藝術展 “愛爾蘭浪濤”策展。她也是2015年10月“私密的傷痕”國際藝術交流巡迴展北京站合作策展人。該展覽曾在紐約、杭州、臺北等多地展出。她在自己的網站記錄參與的藝術項目，並在“藝術家自述”欄目裡介紹其他參展藝術家的作品。其中一些文章和文章修訂版發表在《中國日報》及其他刊物上。
Cunningham has curated various exhibitions for the Irish Wave Exhibitions with Fion Gunn from 2012-2016 as part of the Irish Festival in China. She was local curator for the Beijing exhibition ‘Intimate Transgressions’ in October 2015. This project was also exhibited at other venues in New York, Hangzhou and Taipei. Niamh documents her projects on her blog and often researches the work of other participating artists under the section “What the artist says”. Some of her blogs or altered versions of her blogs have been published in China Daily and other publications.
她的 “樹之記憶宮殿” 2020是一個關注生態環境的藝術實踐，通過從中國及世界各地不同地方的人們那裡收集關於樹的故事，探索講述的力量。
Her 2020 ‘Memory Palace of Trees’ project is an ecological art practice exploring the power of storytelling where she collects stories about trees from people in different communities in China and around the world.
面對自然的四季輪迴
我們應該心懷謙卑
○
文/倪芙瑞蓮
昨晚下雨了。我發現這樣不經常發生的事常常讓人感受更敏銳。雨滴拍打在窗戶上，它們輕快的歌聲穿過玻璃傳到乾燥的這一面。本週早些時候發佈的一份報告稱，過去十年是美國四百年以來最乾旱的一段時間（巧合的是，其中一些信息來自樹木，研究人員檢測了樹木年輪中的土壤溼度）。我的童年是在愛爾蘭度過的，那時候幾乎天天下雨，我還記得為下雨時不可以跑出去探險而感到懊惱。而現在，我住在氣候乾燥的中國北方，我知道在這裡人們喜歡雨的到來。沉浸在這動聽的聲音裡，我想到世界不同地方的情形，還有當前全球面臨的混亂和麻煩。
Last night it rained. Such a rare happening I find often heightens awareness. The pattering bounce of droplets against the window pane have permeated the dry side of the window with their song. Earlier in the week a report was released that this past decade was the driest in 400 years in the US. (Coincidentally some of this information comes from trees by detecting soil moisture in tree rings.) As a child growing up in Ireland I lived with rain almost everyday and remember the annoyance as it prohibited outdoor adventures. Now living in the dry north of China I acknowledge how welcome the rainfall is. While being showered in this glorious sound I imagine the different regions of the world and the troubles of current global disruption.
奧林匹克公園 Olympic Park 2020.2.1 ©Niamh Cunningham 倪芙瑞蓮 2020
從農曆新年開始，我和當記者的丈夫湯姆，還有兒子飛揚一起待在北五環的家裡。我用最大的房間作為工作室，不過我的工作和工作空間已經讓雜亂擴展到每個房間。
兒子從大學校園搬回家住並且在線學習，這對每個人來說都是個不小的挑戰。一天之中有幾次，我們共用一張大桌子在各自電腦前工作，有時他進自己的臥室繼續學習或者彈吉他。I have been living at home north of the fifth ring road with my journalist husband Tom and son Fionn since the Chinese New Year. I use the largest room in the apartment as my studio and of course my work and workspace has spread its chaos into every room. This is quite a challenge as my son no longer lives on his university campus and continues his studies online at home. We share the big table for our separate computer work several times a day and sometimes he goes into his bedroom to continue his study or guitar playing.
孤星剪影 Lone Star Stencil ©Niamh Cunningham 倪芙瑞蓮2020
在北京這些年，我們先後住過的三套公寓都在水清樹綠的奧林匹克森林公園旁邊。在隔離的這些日子，我把從前定期游泳改成了經常去公園散步。冬去春來，我見證了皚皚白雪與深色的光禿禿的樹枝形成鮮明對比，漸漸變成淡綠的枝條映襯著一團團一簇簇盛開的花朵。當我們意識到生命有限，觀察大自然四季輪迴比以往更令人沉思、心懷謙卑。
During our many years here in Beijing all three apartments we lived in were a stone’s throw away from the expansive web of green and blue things Olympic Park. During the lockdown my regular swims have been traded for frequent walks in the park where I could witness snow scenes contrasted with dark bare branches to the transformed fleece of blossoms and pale green of treetops. When our sense of mortality is heightened observing the cycles of nature is very meditative and humbling.
過去幾個月疫情之下，在公園裡散步讓人感到欣慰。公園裡人人都戴口罩，不過人多的時候保持社交距離還真不太容易。
Taking walks in the park during the pandemic has been a grateful release these past months. Park culture has everyone wearing masks, and trying to maintain social distancing is a challenge on those days when there are crowds.
多年來，我經常參加各種藝術項目，在中國各地旅行的同時，結識了很多藝術家同行，比如2014年湖南張家界、2017年山東無棣、2018年深圳觀瀾、2019年四川沙灣等地舉辦的多個藝術項目，還有許多旅行群展和沙龍活動。在隔離期間，我回想起之前結實的的許多藝術家朋友，以及我們一起度過的愉快時光。當時我跟他們學習漢語口語，很艱難的獲得了一些小小的進步。疫情期間，我一直與一些藝術家朋友保持聯繫，也希望結識更多藝術家朋友。
I used to travel quite a lot on various projects outside Beijing over the years, getting to know other artists on residencies in Zhangjiajie Hunan 2014, Wudi Shandong 2017, Guanlan Shenzhen 2018, Shawan Sichuan 2019, and numerous other travelling group exhibitions and salons. During these isolated times I reflect how fortunate I was to get to know many artists, enjoy their company, learn from them and gradually, slowly and painstakingly make small improvements on my spoken Chinese language. I have kept in touch with some artist friends during the pandemic and need to reach out to more friends.
早上匆匆寫下的記錄 First scribbles of the day
一開始我有點困惑，但後來一月底看到約翰斯·霍普金斯大學的現場直播，我才明白有可能出現的全球混亂。漆黑的世界地圖只有右邊是亮的，幾個中國城市標著紅色小點，湖北則是一個大大的令人不安的紅色的圓。光標掃過地球儀，顯示新冠病毒將穿越全球地形邊界。 從二月初開始，我每天早上起來第一件事就是記下湖北的數字，然後是北京的。幾周以後，早上匆匆寫下的記錄也包含歐洲和其他一些國家。很快，我發現WorldoMeter實時網站提供更詳細的數據，比如每百萬人口進行的測試次數、數字圖表列出每日增長、以直方圖形式呈現各個分區統計概況。
I was initially puzzled but then understood the possibility of a global disruption when I saw the Johns Hopkins live feed at the end of January. This pitch-black global map was illuminated only on the righthand side with a few of Chinese cities marked with tiny red specks, a large terrifying wheel of red for Hubei. While sweeping the cursor over the globe these borders of the global terrain would be permeable to COVID-19. From early February first thing every morning I would jot down the figures for Hubei and then Beijing. A few weeks later European and other countries were added to my morning scribbles. Soon I discovered the detailed statistics of the Worldometer live feed website providing much more detailed recording of test numbers per million population with daily increase in numbers with charts and a histogram overview of each statistic collection.
我繼續在紙上記下數據，也在電腦裡存一份文檔。當全家人坐在一起吃晚飯討論某個地方情況的時候，我的紙記錄就派上用場了，可以用作參考。我經常想到那些在武漢和別的城市醫學實驗室做檢測的人，想到世界其他地方的檢測中心。
I continue my numbers of paper alongside a file on computer. The paper sheets are only useful if there is a family dinner table debate about some part of the world and I can present the numbers. I have often thought of people who were working in medical laboratories testing for Wuhan and other cities then later the other testing centres over the globe.
我當醫學檢驗師已經是很久之前的事了。30年前從大學畢業後，我在肯特及坎特伯雷醫院化學病理實驗室工作了三年。
我試圖四處收集數據，甚至努力回憶早些年學的基礎科學，想弄清楚我們這個世界到底怎麼了。新冠病毒是一種有機生物體，藏在我們眼皮底下，想在人類宿主身上存活， 特別喜歡通過近距離接觸傳播。幸運的是，在我的祖國愛爾蘭，領導人及時採取措施防止擴散。愛爾蘭總理利奧·瓦拉德卡從政前當過醫生。儘管情況有所好轉，愛爾蘭衛生部長對人們的驕傲自滿情緒表示擔憂，認為進展來之不易，稍稍懈怠就可能再次惡化。It has been a long time since left a profession as medical technologist. After finishing university 30 years ago I worked for three years in the chemical pathology laboratories of Kent and Canterbury Hospital. I attempt to glean over the statistics and even try to recall the basics of science from an earlier life to make sense and understand the world we live in now. The virus is a living organism hiding in plain sight with a will to survive in each human host, it favours close encounters. In my home country thank fully the leadership took early steps to contain the spread. Ireland’s Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Leo Varadkar practiced as a medical doctor before entering politics. However Ireland’s health minister fears complacency as progress is fragile it would not take much for progress to be reversed.
似乎在疫苗誕生之前我們就會找到應對新冠肺炎的方法。大型社會實驗推動教育和其他一些服務通過在線平臺進行，有些方式會一直持續，新行業必隨之誕生。相關技術和大數據都在向前推進。在韓國，手機應用被用來追蹤病例密切接觸者，其他國家也在謹慎開發類似應用。
It would seem that treatments for COVID -19 will arrive well before vaccinations. There are huge social experiments which have pushed education and other services to online platforms, some of this approach will not be reversed and new industries are inevitable. Such technologies and also big data have pushed forward. Contact tracing of infections as they do in South Korea using phone apps is now also carefully studied by other countries.
沉醉巴羅河 Barrow Trance 130 x 163cm ©Niamh Cunningham 倪芙瑞蓮 2020
在新冠疫情下，我選擇把精力放在我的社會生態實踐項目上，收集關於樹木的故事，每週寫一篇博客。“樹之記憶宮殿”項目不僅僅是創作有關樹的作品，它也鼓勵我接觸各種各樣的人、詢問他們各自的故事。
我想在社區建設、分享我們與自然的聯繫，以及瞭解正在興起的項目，比如自然保護、森林砍伐、防止未來氣候變化引發全球性問題等多個領域，探索講述的力量。During the COVID -19 era I chose to focus on the socio-eco project of collecting stories on trees for my weekly blog. The ‘Memory Palace of Trees’ project is not just about making artwork about trees but it is a nudge for me to reach out to all kinds of people and ask them for their stories. I wanted to explore the power of storytelling in building communities, in sharing our connections with nature and also learning about current projects that are sprouting up regarding nature conservation, deforestation and preventing future global disruptions due to climate change.
落雁森林 90x 240cm ©Niamh Cunningham 倪芙瑞蓮2020 Swan Goose Forest 90x 240cm©Niamh Cunningham 倪芙
新冠疫情以來，我完成了幾幅有關樹的布上畫和一些混合材質蔗糖作品。我的蔗糖作品基於自然風景，探索轉變這一主題。目前正在進行中的五件作品以中國園林為題，為今年晚些時候可能在深圳舉辦的團體藝術項目做準備。創作的過程，是通過材料自身性質和結晶作用探索轉變發生的過程，通過仔細規劃和預測，我可以放下對最終結果的所有權，讓作品繼續結晶的過程，同時我把這些變化拍攝記錄下來。
Since the COVID era I have completed some tree paintings on canvas and also some mixed media sucrose work. My sucrose work is based on nature and explores themes of transformation. The five pieces I have been working on explores Chinese garden themes for a potential group project in Shenzhen later this year. The process explores the process of transformation with materiality and crystalisation, through careful planning and predicting I can let go of the ownership of the final result, let the painting continue its process while I photograph the changes that occur.
Pond Poplar 蔗糖系列2，4，7, 10順序 ©Niamh Cunningham 倪芙瑞蓮2020 Pond Poplars Sucrose Series ©Nia
蔗糖系列 尖峰豫園 Spiked Blossoms YuYuan Sucrose mixed media 12.02.2020
蔗糖系列. 豫園歪牆 Crooked wall Yuyuan Sucrose Mixed media 11.02.2020
以有形的方式傳遞藝術
Art delivers in tangible ways
幾年前我在深圳參加了一個版畫藝術家駐地項目，在那裡度過了愉快的幾星期。中國疫情剛剛爆發的時候，我在群中注意到很多人設法購買個人防護用品。版畫基地的趙先生為附近一家深圳醫院募捐和採購，世界各地的藝術家都盡力幫助他。當中國情況穩定下來，而其他地方變得嚴重的時候，他開始為那些身處疫情嚴重地區的藝術家採購。我告訴他我在西班牙的哥哥和嫂子的事，我嫂子為紅十字會、警察局和其他機構協調聯絡製作口罩的縫紉小組。上星期我聽說一個寄給他們的包裹已經在路上。謝謝你，趙先生。
A couple of years ago I spent a few enjoyable weeks on a printmaking residency in Shenzhen. At the beginning of the outbreak in China I noticed on a group chat a lot of activity sourcing personal protective supplies. Mr Zhao from the base was collecting and sourcing PPE for a nearby hospital in Shenzhen. Artists from all over the world were trying to help him. Once the situation stabilized in China and escalated outside he then continued to source material for those artists in locations who were in deep need. I told him about my brother and his wife in Spain, my sister in law has been co ordinating sewing groups for making masks for the Red cross, police and other groups. I heard last week that there is a package on its way to them. Thank you，Mr.Zhao.
我和東嶽美術館的老朋友袁先生聊天的時候，又收到了一份意想不到的禮物。我們談到往海外寄口罩不太容易。我告訴他，我想向愛爾蘭和英國的社區和醫學中心寄一些口罩（年輕時我在英國國家醫療服務體系中工作過）。上星期他寄了一大箱子口罩，一同寄去的還有我在淘寶上買的一箱。一箱送到都柏林內城區社區團體，另一箱送到肯特與坎特伯雷醫院。在中國，也有愛爾蘭社區募捐防護用具，許多藝術家朋友為此出力。謝謝你們每一個人。中國朋友們的熱心腸深深感動了我。
Another unexpected gift came when I was chatting with an old friend Mr.Yuan from Dong Yue Art Museum. We discussed challenges in posting facemasks overseas. I told him I wanted to also send masks to communities and medical centres in Ireland and England (as a young adult I had worked for the NHS –National Health Service in England). He sent a large box of masks last week and along with another box I bought on Taobao I arranged one box to go to community groups in inner City Dublin and another box to go Kent and Canterbury Hospital. There were also fundraisers by the Irish community for PPE here in China where artist friends contributed. You know who you are, Thank You. I was really moved how Chinese friends wanted to help in this effort.
2020年2月3日©Niamh Cunningham 倪芙瑞蓮2020 February 3 2020
在公園散步的時候，我經常登上公園北側一座小山，從那裡可以俯瞰五環路以內，從五環到四環，沿著中軸線再向南延伸，就到達故宮。雖然從山上看不見所有這些細節，但我對這條軌跡很熟悉。一路上我在不同地方拍照。上山的第一站是一個木製平臺。每次我都把胳膊架在同一根欄杆上，以此來標記位置。有一天，一個人背對著我跳舞，他伴隨著揚聲器放出的音樂旋轉、扭動身體。我不想驚動他，悄悄走了，不過有一點點後悔沒有走上前去聊幾句。
During the park walks I often reach a hill on the northside of the park which overlooks the entire grounds beyond the fifth ring road all the way to the 4th ring road extending further south through the central axis that reaches to the forbidden city. Although all those details are not visible from this hill I am familiar with this trajectory. I take photos at different points along this hill. The first stop I make on this hill is a wooden platform. I mark my position by resting my elbow on the same fence pole. One day there was a dancer with his back to me playing his music on a speaker while twisting and turning. I slipped away not wanting to alarm him and with a pang of regret that I didn’t initiate a conversation.
Wooden Platform April 17 2020
關鍵字: years 倪芙瑞蓮 Cunningham
