Mountain Views Water Tells
山水之戀·文化記憶
--Aileen Moka （藝評人：艾琳）
Water Tells 水之語
Water memory is the purported ability of water to retain a memory of substances previously dissolved in it even after an arbitrary number of serial dilutions.
水是有記憶的 ，即使在被任意次稀釋后，仍能保留先前溶解在其中的物質(zhì)的記憶。
Artist / Curator Nova Zheng first solo exhibition A Place of Land and Sea, UNSW A&D Art Space, June 2022.
2022年6月藝術(shù)家Nova Zheng個展“有山有水的地方”， 新南威爾士大學(xué)藝術(shù)空間
Simultaneously like and unlike everyone else, we all have strings of memories constantly folding in and onto each other. Sometimes we are so sure about who we areand where we came from, but most of the time we arekind of lost, lost in the calm air, lost in the waving sea. The memory of childhood is like a ship emerging from behind the sunset then suddenly fading into the mysterious fog.
看似與他人別無差異，卻又好似迥然不同，我們都有著一串串、一層層不斷疊加的記憶。有時似乎很確定我是誰，從哪里來，但更多的時候我們則是陷入無盡的迷茫，迷失在平靜的空氣中，迷失在波濤洶涌的大海里，迷失在不斷的自我找尋中······ 童年的記憶就像一葉輕舟從夕陽的余暉中閃現(xiàn)，隨即又驟然消失在藹藹迷霧之中。
Migrating from one part of the world to another, diasporaartists are continuing to express their diverse experiences of culture and identity using their own artforms. Artist Nova Zheng is one of them. Overlapping and collisionare two strong feelings we get from Nova’s exhibition A Place of Land and Sea. It was her first solo show exhibit in the UNSW A&D Art Space on the 1st of June to the 12th of June 2022.
從世界的一個地方遷移到另一個地方，移民藝術(shù)家使用他們獨特的藝術(shù)形式來表達對文化和身份的多樣化體驗，藝術(shù)家 Nova Zheng 便是其中之一。重疊與碰撞，是我們從Nova于 2022 年 6月在 UNSW A&D 藝術(shù)空間舉辦的首次個展《有山有水的地方》中得到的強烈感受。
This exhibition selects the artist's photographic works and presents traditional photography through the form of projection and art installations to expand the 2D realm of still images beyond their frames. Walking into the exhibition is like entering into a non-existent dream world, that could temporarily connect us to the memoriesin a 3D space with mixed time. The artist used black and white prints and moving images to explore her cultural memories of childhood and the reconstruction of Chinese identity in the age of globalisation from the perspective of an Australian based Chinese artist. During Covid, these memories flash in our minds, far and near. This was restructured to be a new expression and explanation.
Nova的個展“有山有水的地方”精選了藝術(shù)家的影像作品，通過投影和藝術(shù)裝置的形式呈現(xiàn)，將靜止圖像的二維領(lǐng)域擴展到畫面之外。走進展覽，參觀者仿佛進入了一個不存在的夢境，可以暫時將我們與混雜著不同時間區(qū)軸的三維空間中的記憶聯(lián)系起來。藝術(shù)家用黑白膠片和動態(tài)影像，以澳大利亞華人藝術(shù)家的視角，探索著童年的文化記憶，用以探討全球化時代背景下華裔身份的重構(gòu)。在Covid期間，這些記憶在我們的腦海中不斷閃現(xiàn)，或遠或近，這些重組形成了一種全新的表達與詮釋。
“A Place of Land and Sea” (2022) exhibition site
“有山有水的地方”2022藝術(shù)展展現(xiàn)場
When I walked into the space, the first artwork that caught my eye was the silky white fabric flowing from the right corner and across the whole space to the leftwith rolling psychedelic slopes. The waving lights climbed on the fabric, which created a texture that looked as if there is water flowing through the rocks. I stoodthere, holding my breath, with the desire to find myself in the sea.
Communication / Observation / Reflection …
Yesterday / Today / Tomorrow …
Where I came from …
Who I am …
Diaspora
走進空間，首先映入眼簾的是雪白織物從空間的右上角自右及左傾瀉而下，自然流動的綿柔，絲質(zhì)搖曳的凹凸在迷幻的燈光爬滿空間之時，熒光通過反射與折射營造出水流過巖石的質(zhì)感。我呆呆的站在那里屏住呼吸，渴望在湍急的河流中找尋自己。
互動 觀察 省思 ……
昨天 今天 明天 ……
我從哪里來……
我是誰……
離散……
注：Diaspora 有離散與移民雙重含義，Diaspora Artist 可稱為“離散藝術(shù)家”或“移民藝術(shù)家”，本文尊重藝術(shù)家意愿，對藝術(shù)家本人稱謂使用“離散藝術(shù)家”，作者會在恰當(dāng)?shù)恼Z境中變換使用兩種稱謂。
Nova used film that reflected off the wall, while allowingthe light to get through the large film negatives freely. When audience walk pass without taking notice, theyhave already become immersed into the story. Hallucinogenic visual experience together with the clear image of Nova grandma’s garden wall, recalls all the great memory of our childhood, which waked our deep memory of where are we come from and leads us to reflect our cultural background.
Diaspora
Diaspora Artist
Australia Based Female Diaspora Artist
… …
Nova 使用從墻壁復(fù)原反射膠片，同時允許光線自由穿梭于懸掛的膠片中。當(dāng)觀眾漫不經(jīng)心地走過時，已全心沉浸在藝術(shù)家營造的故事中。迷幻的視覺體驗，加上諾娃奶奶花園墻壁上的柳葉隨風(fēng)搖曳，喚醒了每個人不同的童年的記憶，當(dāng)這些記憶碎片拼接成為文化記憶的時候，自我身份的省思便油然而生。
離散
離散藝術(shù)家
澳大利亞女性離散藝術(shù)家
……
Fig. 1.3 “Imprinting” (2022)
Thermal paper, candle, matches,single-channel video
Mountain Views 山之韻
The Mountain sat upon the Plain
In his tremendous Chair —
His observation omnifold,
His inquest, everywhere —
-- Emily Dickinson
Artistic practices were the impetus for communication, observation, and reflection. Through a tiny little projection screen on the wall, we could see Nova standing there burning the paper in a calm way. She was so restful relaxed and immersed in her own world. The audience must get very close to have a clear look. Life throws chaos at us on a regular basis, but visitors to the exhibition could find themselves throwing things out of their mind for the present to enjoy the peaceful moment with her when looking through the screen. Walking in time, memory of the past always looming ahead through the haze. By looking at the artwork, experiencing the temporary connection and emotion between the artist, thepicture of the self-identification from blur to clear. The culture memory like thousands of puzzles trying to lock into each other to make a graphic map of a diaspora artists art exploration.
山坐在平原上
在他巨大的交椅之上——
他的觀察無所不在，
他的審判，無處不在——
——艾米莉·狄金森
藝術(shù)實踐是交流、觀察和省思的動力。透過墻上的一個小小的投影屏幕，我們可以看到Nova站在那里，平靜地用一支蠟燭燒烤著一卷卷的紙張。她很松弛的沉浸在自己的世界里，觀眾卻必須附身靠得很近才能看得清楚。生活經(jīng)常是疲憊不堪的，當(dāng)參觀展覽的參觀者必須專注才能與藝術(shù)家交流的時候，會發(fā)現(xiàn)自己附身的剎那已經(jīng)將腦海中的雜念拋諸腦后，通過屏幕與她一起享受寧靜的片刻。時光荏苒，過去的記憶總是在霧靄中若隱若現(xiàn)。通過與作品的互動，體驗與藝術(shù)家之間短暫的情感鏈接。文化記憶就像數(shù)以千計的拼圖試圖相互鎖定，逐步架構(gòu)出藝術(shù)探索的地圖，自我認(rèn)同會隨之會呈現(xiàn)出從模糊到清晰的畫面。
“Imprinting” (2022) Thermal paper, candle, matches, single-channel video
裝置藝術(shù)品“印記”（2022）
Installation artwork Imprinting is a multi-artform Archive of memory, using thermal paper, candle, matches and a single channel video to express. Nova used the burning mark on the thermal paper as an analogy of remnants of memory and used her performance of the paper burning to record the memory of happiness and pain. The process of burning took Nova more than a week or so to complete. We could see from the film that the artist indulged herself into the memory during this process, recalling and refreshing the past. Just like a printing machine, the thermal paper export from the screen to being scattered on the table and then dropped onto the ground.
裝置藝術(shù)“印記”是一種使用多藝術(shù)形式表現(xiàn)的記憶檔案，使用熱敏紙、蠟燭、火柴和單通道視頻來表達，制作的過程長達一個多星期。Nova用熱敏紙上燃燒的痕跡來比喻記憶的中幸福和痛苦的深深淺淺的殘跡，從影片中我們可以看出，藝術(shù)家在這個過程中沉浸在記憶中，提煉和重塑了過去。整個裝置藝術(shù)，有輸出的概念，影像就像一臺打印機，熱敏紙從屏幕的右端輸出，散布在桌子上，隨之垂落到地上， 在無限的空間里開始編織，編織成一張不斷擴展的地圖。
The arrangement of the heat sensitive paper on the ground and the infinite extensibility of the weaving have become the most impressive part of the work. Just like the formation of my experience and memory in a discrete state, they exist in a non-linear shape, folded, entangled, and influenced each other, sometimes interlinked, sometimes disconnected, sometimes superimposed, and sometimes isolated. Nova weaved the paper like a fabric with a wave shape like the mountain and the sea in different lengths, like the memories distort others tocreate new pseudo-memory. The light in the exhibition space reflects on the black and white woven paper mat tocreate a unique map of memory. The old stories seem suspended on the horizon and slipped their limits. The image like a secret hoop shaping a formless impression.The artist made that up to let us feel standing out of our own story to self-reflect.
Past/ Present / Future …
Where I came from …
Who I am …
Diaspora
Diaspora Artist
Australia Based Female Diaspora Artist
… …
熱敏紙在地面上的排列和編織的無限延展性成為作品中最令人印象深刻的部分。就像自我的經(jīng)驗和記憶在離散狀態(tài)下形成的一樣，它們以非線性的形態(tài)存在，折疊、糾纏、相互影響，時而相通，時而分離，時而疊加，時而孤立。Nova把紙織成網(wǎng)毯，取材長短不一，記憶的網(wǎng)毯像山海一樣此起彼伏，就像記憶會扭曲會缺失從而創(chuàng)造出新的偽記憶。展覽空間中的光線反射在黑白鮮明的網(wǎng)毯之上營造出了獨特的記憶地圖。古老的故事似乎懸浮在地平線之上，總是試圖超越了時空的界限，記憶的影像被塑造成了一個無形的網(wǎng)。藝術(shù)家讓我們從自己的記憶故事中跳脫出來，反向觀察，便更加清晰與犀利。
過去，現(xiàn)在，未來 …
我從哪里來……
我是誰 …
移民
移民藝術(shù)家
澳大利亞女性移民藝術(shù)家……
Diaspora artists often have the same immigration experience, who have migrated from one part of the world to another. Nova is one of them and she carries the culture imprint from the place she had lived for her art expression. To explain the roundness of the earth, artists were trying to mix the culture together, but found the sharpened tip of the compass needle direct them back to the culture which they or their family carried from the childhood. When we try to comprehend the possibility ofcrossing cultures, great dread may hold us back. Using alternative narratives to challenge and recreate the ideas and structures of the solidified culture memory shows the pioneer spirit in a soft way.
離散藝術(shù)家通常有著同樣的移民經(jīng)歷，他們從世界的一個地方遷移到另一個地方，Nova 便是其中之一，她的藝術(shù)表達具有顯著的文化印記。為了詮釋全球的寬容度，很多藝術(shù)家們試圖將文化混合在一起，但卻發(fā)現(xiàn)指南針的鋒利針尖將他們引回了他們或他們的家人從童年時代所攜帶的文化本源。當(dāng)我們試圖理解跨文化的可能性時，恐懼可能會形成巨大的障礙，用另類的敘事方式挑戰(zhàn)和重建固化的文化記憶的思想和架構(gòu)，以一種柔和的方式展現(xiàn)用以開拓多維的視角，或許這就是女性離散藝術(shù)家的優(yōu)勢。
When Nova introduced her motivation of creating the artwork during artist talks. She has repeated many times that her works are all about diaspora, identity, and geography either from her individual memory, family memory or collective memory. Nova grew up in Beijing and lived in Canada for many years then shifted to Australia. All these migration experiences give her the power for her art practice. A place of land and sea givesthe idea of identification of our geography landscape of her background, which remind me one of Dylan Thomas’s best-loved poems ‘Fern Hill’. In the poem, he revisits his childhood, using his visits to his aunt’s farm as the subject-matter.
Nova 在訪談中介紹她的創(chuàng)動機時多次重申，無論是個人記憶、家庭記憶還是集體記憶，她的作品都是關(guān)于移民、身份和地理的。 Nova在北京長大，在加拿大生活多年，后移居澳大利亞，所有這些移民經(jīng)歷都賦予了她藝術(shù)實踐的力量。“有山有水的地方”引發(fā)了我們識別她個人背景地理景觀的興趣，這讓我想起了詩人迪倫托馬斯最杰出的詩歌之一“蕨山”中對山的描寫，這首詩也是他以參觀姑姑的農(nóng)場為的童年記憶為引的。
Against the hard and pale blue evening sky
The mountain’s new-dropped summer snow is clear
Glistening in steadfast stillness: like transcendent
Clean pain sending on us a chill down here …
----- D. H. Lawrence, ‘Meeting among the Mountains’.
在淡藍色的傍晚天空的映襯下
山上初降的夏雪清澈
在沉穩(wěn)的堅定中閃閃發(fā)光：是那樣超凡脫俗
純粹的痛苦讓我們感到一陣寒意……
----- D. H. Lawrence，“望山”
Diaspora’s family memory or collective memory has become a potent subject in art. Like ‘godfather of multiculturalism’ Jamaican-born cultural theorist and sociologist Stuart Hall claimed in the essay ‘Cultural identity and Diaspora’ that diasporas have one that is based on similarities and a unity which comes from belonging to a shared culture; and one that is based on an active process of identification
that responds to points of difference. Installation artwork Imprinting inspirate us to think back these memories to help us to identify ourselves to fit into the community.
而今移民的家庭記憶或集體記憶已成為有力的藝術(shù)主題，就像“多元文化教父”牙買加出生的文化理論家和社會學(xué)家 Stuart Hall 在《文化身份與移民》一文中提到的：“移民具有基于相似性和來自共同文化的統(tǒng)一性的身份，以及基于主動識別過程的響應(yīng)的共同點?！毖b置藝術(shù)“印記”啟發(fā)我們重溫這些記憶，以幫助我們自我認(rèn)知與省思， 從而更好的融入多元文化社區(qū)。
Forming Settling and Evolving 形成、沉淀與演變
When I die I shall not have died
Because I have not existed
In your mind perhaps, within the minds of others,
I have moved and been consumed by movement
---- Kathleen Tankersley
The artwork Imprinting has a very prominent attribute. The burning mark on the paper will slowly fade over time. The fading of the mark on thermal material is like the memories that are slowly weakening and changing. As time goes by, the marks will have different details, the artwork will not only change the appearance with the light but also with the time. Ink like black mark will gradually fade or even disappear just like how the stories and childhood memories will be forgotten. Deep thinking deconstructs bipolar notions of the homeland and livingcountry and accept the inconsistencies. It also helps us tounderstand the fluidities of immigrant’s identities and celebrate life in diasporic third space.
當(dāng)我死去時我不會死
因為我并不存在
也許在你的腦海里，或是在別人的腦海里，
我已被重塑被吞噬
---- 凱瑟琳·坦克斯利
藝術(shù)品“印記”具有一個非常突出的屬性，燒痕會隨著時間慢慢消退。熱敏材料印記的褪色過程，就像是在慢慢弱化和畸變的記憶。隨著時間的推移，標(biāo)記會出現(xiàn)不同的細(xì)節(jié)，藝術(shù)品不僅會隨著光而改變外觀，還會隨著時間而改變。墨色的墨跡會逐漸淡去甚至消失，就像故事和童年的記憶會被遺忘一樣，凝思和解構(gòu)祖籍國和移居國家的文化差異，并接受他們的不一致性。這樣的思考有助于我們了解移民身份的流動性，從而能使我們更加舒適的在離散的“第三空間”生活。
Immigrant’s memories are evolving through a continuous play of history, culture, and power. Nova Zheng, not only an Australia based Chinese artist but also a female curator. Instead of talking about religious and political identify of diaspora in a hard way, her art language is very soft. Her art expression could be examined in different political and nationality contexts, since everyone has their childhood memories, and everyone has a land to remember. We should respect the multicultural background people from all over the world especially in Australia. This exhibition examines contemporary aspects of the identity construction of the diaspora from her own angle. Instead of transculturalconfrontations the show brought the audience a peaceful space to acceptand, integrate and appreciate.
移民的記憶是隨著歷史、文化和權(quán)力的不斷變化而演變的， Nova Zheng不僅是澳大利亞的華人藝術(shù)家，也是一位女性策展人，她的藝??術(shù)語言沒有硬性地談?wù)?/span>移民、宗教和政治身份，而是以非常柔和的描述她的記憶。這種藝??術(shù)表達可以放在不同的政治和民族背景下進行審視，因為每個人都有童年的記憶，每個人都有自己思戀的土地。在澳大利亞的多元文化背景下，我們應(yīng)該尊重來自世界各地的移民。本次展覽從她自己的角度審視了當(dāng)代語境下的移民身份，為觀眾帶來了一個和平的空間來接受、融合和彼此欣賞。
A Place of Land and Sea addressed issues of a mix of experience and culture’s identity in conflicts by waking up the childhood memories. All these memories related to cultural practice and production which expressed the dislocation, displacement, and hybridity of a diaspora. With the lapse of time, all conflicts between cultures will be minimized and downplayed. The exhibition wasNova’s first art practice, which is powerful and influential. It used multi-media artform though through the self-identification and culture aspect in the contemporary context. Like the artist claimed on interview, this art practice could be an exemplary art piece for her art life, which is a milestone for herself as dual identity as female curator and artist. In the future she could expand from these original concepts using more artform to have deep conversations about different conceptualizations of the diaspora, diversities of history and cultural identity of immigrants.
“有山有水的地方”通過喚醒童年記憶來解決經(jīng)驗和文化身份混合的沖突問題，所有這些記憶都與文化實踐和生產(chǎn)有關(guān)。藝術(shù)家表達了移民記憶的錯位、偏移和混雜，隨著時間的推移，所有文化之間的沖突都會被最消解和淡化。此次展覽是Nova的第一次藝術(shù)實踐，它通過當(dāng)代語境中的自我認(rèn)同和文化方面來使用多媒體藝術(shù)形式，具有非常強的藝術(shù)表現(xiàn)力。就像藝術(shù)家在采訪中所說的那樣，這種藝術(shù)實踐可以成為她藝術(shù)生活的典范，這對她作為女性策展人和藝術(shù)家的雙重身份來說是一個里程碑。未來，她會從這些原始概念中進一步擴展，使用更多的藝術(shù)形式，就移民的不同觀念、歷史的多樣性和移民的文化身份等主題進行深入的對話。
Message Board 留言板
Her exhibition has opened a window of cultural memories for me, with metaphorical windows of the train and bamboo forests projected on the wall in parallel with the physical windows in the exhibition space. In the centre of the exhibition space, the twisted multi-media installation connects these experiences and memories under the light and shadow, facilitating a dialogue with time and space about the dual existence of "here" and "there", "present" and "past”.
-- Joyce Guo (Chinese emerging artist·Student of UNSW)
她的展覽為我打開了一扇文化記憶的窗口，墻上若隱若現(xiàn)著火車和竹林的窗戶，與展覽空間的實體飄窗平行。在展覽空間的中心，扭曲的多媒體裝置在光影下將這些體驗和記憶連接起來，引發(fā)了我與時間和空間關(guān)于“這里”和“那里”、“現(xiàn)在”和“過去”的對話。
-- Joyce Guo（中國新銳藝術(shù)家·新南威爾士大學(xué)學(xué)生）
Nova used her film to create a great scene recalls our memory.
-- Abigail Moncrieff ( Curator ·Professor of UNSW)
Nova用她的影像創(chuàng)造了一個喚起了我們記憶的具有感染力的場景。
——Abigail Moncrieff（策展人·新南威爾士大學(xué)教授）
When I aware of some of the limitations of film, I am getting more and more interested in contemporary art and conceptual art.
-- Nova Zheng( Curator · Artist)
當(dāng)我意識到電影的一些局限性時，對當(dāng)代藝術(shù)和觀念藝術(shù)便越來越感興趣。
——Nova Zheng（策展人·藝術(shù)家）
The mountain lives in the heart of the water, the water dances in the dream of the mountain. With promise, life and death depend on each other. ......
-- Aileen Moka ( Curator · Critic)
山活在水的心上，水舞在山的夢里。 一諾，便生死相依……
——艾琳（策展人·藝術(shù)評論）
撰稿：艾琳（ 澳大利亞· 悉尼）
華裔詩人、獨立策劃策展人、藝術(shù)評論人
新南威爾士大學(xué)藝術(shù)與設(shè)計系 策劃與文化領(lǐng)導(dǎo)學(xué)研究生
澳大利亞作家協(xié)會Australian Society of Authors（ASA）會員
著有《Iris Lovers》《鳶尾的情緒》《艾的緒語》詩文專輯， 《鳶尾的情緒》《鳶尾的旅行》《鳶之花》系列詩歌分享會，《陪孩子寫一首詩》《給孩子們的詩》《山水之戀》《有沒有一首歌》《粉紅十月》主題活動策劃人。
本期總編：靜好（英國）
注：本期配圖由艾琳女士提供。
