The Comforter 裹紧我的被子前进

January 31, 2018 2018年1月31日

For Korean photographer Wonjun Jeong, a blanket is essentially a barrier that can shield you from the chaos of life; it offers a moment of respite that allows for introspective clarity and recognition of one’s humble existence in the greater context of the world. At the same time, it forces a personal confrontation with feelings of futility, fear, relief, boredom, anxiety, and the suffocating nature of reality. His new photo series, The Comforter, depicting an unidentifiable subject wrapped up in a white duvet, captures all of these feelings in a quirky, unusual way.

《The Comforter》是来自韩国摄影师 Wonjun Jeong 的系列摄影作品，照片的主体是包裹在一条被子里部分裸露的人体。而正是通过这种遮挡自己视线的方式，Wonjun 试图以向内的审视来认清自己卑微的存在，并从日常生活中，甚至可说是从令人窒息的现实中，向人们传达出徒劳、恐惧、解脱和焦虑之感。

Jeong has often been haunted by a sense of apprehension, dread, and boredom. When overwhelmed by these feelings, he would retreat to his bed. The bed and duvet essentially became a sanctuary for him. Festering within, these negative emotions ultimately became the catalyst for The Comforter. “During that period in my life, I’d often just lie in bed and pull up the blanket over my head. At first, these emotions I felt would then spread internally, tormenting and confining me. But I began to wonder whether the feelings truly originated due to my own internal problem or due to my external influences. But within my blanket, I would begin to feel relief. Nobody can see me and nothing can influence me. I think the boredom and negative feelings I experienced was because I felt trapped by society. When I’m alone, I felt much more relaxed.”

最初想到以“被子”作为给人以安慰的物品，是因为 Wonjun 在想到未来的时候，有种无法排遣的焦虑和恐惧，日常生活又使他感到毫无生气。“在那些时候，我躺在床上，把毯子拉在头上，万千思绪蔓延开来，折磨着我自己，也禁锢着我自己。可我开始怀疑，这种感觉到底是我的内在问题，还是由于外在的影响呢？”

而在床上用被子蒙住头创造出的小空间，却让 Wonjun 感到很放松，“没有人能看得到我，也没有事可以影响我。”Wonjun 说那是他最后的一小块“私密场所”。“我觉得，我之所以感到空虚和沮丧，是因为我被社会所禁锢了吧。所以在我一个人的时候，我会觉得舒坦多了。”

In an effort to understand how Seoul – his city of residence and a place he’s become so familiar with – could have contributed to these negative thoughts, Jeong shot the entire project in various places he often visited around the city. “I wanted to shoot along my normal routes and in locations that I normally go to because I wanted to review the feelings I’d feel when I walked around these places,” he explains. “I also only chose spots where I could get my subjects alone because I want the audience to focus on the isolated figure and reflect on their experiences.”

Wonjun 说，之所以选择在自己生活的城市首尔拍摄这个系列，是因为“我想要选择我居住的地方、我行走的路线，然后回顾我每次行走其中的感受。并且，我只会选择没有人只有物的场景。我想让观众把注意的焦点放在被拍摄的主体之上，并且能映射出他们自己的经历。”

This photo series ultimately serves as an outlet for Jeong’s pent-up frustrations; it’s a reflection of similar feelings that many young Koreans experience today due to the imbalance of wealth within Korea’s social hierarchy. With no attempt to hide his disappointment, Jeong tells us, “There are countless troubles, tensions, and conflicts in our fast-growing country. The country’s rapid progress in such a short period has caused many societal values to be lost. In Korea, the conflict now is between the generation that experienced growth and opportunity and those who did not. It’s often said that Korean society is where young people must make many compromises and I agree. I share the same worries towards the future as many of my peers, and I’m deeply affected by them. I believe that a lot of changes need to happen in the future.”

相片中呈现的挫败感，亦是一部分韩国青年的写照。“大多数人觉得，当他们有什么问题的时候，原因常常都在于他们自己。其实却未必。我觉得问题之源可能在于人们所处的社会体系。”Wonjun 说，“在韩国，短时间内取得的快速发展，已经导致很多社会价值观缺失。经历过发展与机遇的一代人和没有经历过的一代人之间，存在着激烈的矛盾……无尽的忧虑、紧张和矛盾充斥在这个高速发展的社会。我也有这些忧虑，也深受它们的影响。但我相信今后一定会迎来改变。”

Click here to check out Conversation, a photo series co-created by Jeong that we previously featured.

点击此处，可继续浏览我们先前对 Wonjun 另一个系列《对话》（Conversation）的报道。

Website: www.hello-sailors.com
Behance: ~/WonjunJeong
Instagram: @zza_sam

Contributor: Chen Yuan
Image Courtesy of Wonjun Jeong & Sailors Studio

网站: www.hello-sailors.com
Behance: ~/WonjunJeong
Instagram: @zza_sam

供稿人: Chen Yuan
图片由 Wonjun Jeong 和 Sailors Studio 提供

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Gouda Grief, Malaysian Cheese!? 谁做了我的奶酪？

January 30, 2018 2018年1月30日

Annisa holding up a Tomme cheese wheel. / Annisa 举着一整块多姆奶酪

Cheddar, Camembert, Gouda, Gorgonzola, Reblochon… These cheeses, in all their moldy, funky glory have been prevalent throughout our rich history with food, but nowhere else in the world is it more ingrained than in European food culture. Take the little Swiss town of Gruyères for example, in which a certain eponymous cheese has been its economic heartbeat for the past twenty decades. Or walk into any cheese shop in Paris, and you’ll find a steady stream of locals sniffing out and purchasing the rows and rows of Brie de Meaux, creamy Camemberts, funky Époisses, great moldy wheels of Roquefort, and many other suspiciously over-ripened, unlabeled cheeses. Cheese has always been synonymous with European culture, there’s no doubt about that.

In the past decade however, there’s been a quiet cheese revolution pervading through Asia, with artisanal cheesemakers like Liu Yang of China and Tina Khan in India paving the way for a greater appreciation for cheese in their respective countries. In the midst of it all, Malaysia has had its own surge of cheesemakers too, with artisans popping up in Kuala Lumpur, Sarawak, and even Langkawi. Most notably, Annisa Iwan, an Indonesian cheesemaker now residing in Kuala Lumpur, has managed to combine her strong base of European cheesemaking methods with a local agenda (she sources her milk locally, adapts her recipe to the Malaysian climate, and sells her cheese to a largely Malaysian clientele). And through her punnily-named Milky Whey Cheese business, she’s been steadily converting many local cheese doubters into lifelong cheese aficionados.

芝士，又称奶酪。切达奶酪（Cheddar）、卡门贝尔奶酪（Camembert）、莫比尔奶酪（Morbier）、戈尔贡佐拉奶酪（Gorgonzola）、瑞布罗申奶酪（Reblochon）……在人类美食历史上，这些通过发酵制成的食物，味道奇怪，有时还长着霉斑，却是一直以来备受人们追捧的美食，尤其是在欧洲，奶酪更是其饮食文化中的重要部分。譬如，在瑞士小镇格鲁耶尔（Gruyères）盛产着一种和小镇同名的奶酪（没错，就是“格鲁耶尔”奶酪），在过去二十年来，这种奶酪可以说是当地的经济命脉。而在巴黎，随便走进一间奶酪店，你都能看到当地人正凑着鼻子在一排排奶酪前闻着，有莫城布里奶酪（Brie de Meaux）、口感柔滑的卡门贝尔奶酪（Camemberts），散发着刺激异味的埃普瓦斯奶酪（Époisses）、洛克福特（Roquefort）奶酪，当然，还有许多疑似发酵过度、没有标签的奶酪。总之，奶酪几乎可以说是欧洲的代名词。

然而，在过去的十年里，亚洲却悄然出现了一场“奶酪革命”，涌现了许多手工奶酪制作者，譬如来自中国的刘洋和印度的 Tina Khan，他们都是奶酪文化的铺路者。而在马来西亚的吉隆坡、沙捞越和兰卡威，手工制作奶酪的人也越来越多，来自印度尼西亚的 Annisa Iwan 就是其中的佼佼者。Annisa 现在住在吉隆坡，她将自己精通的欧洲奶酪制作工艺与本地食材相结合，从当地采购牛奶，根据马来西亚的气候调整奶酪制作方法，她的客户也是以马来西亚人为主。她还给自己的奶酪公司起了一个有意思的名字“Milky Whey Cheese”，她制作的奶酪，让当地许多对奶酪无感的“路人”变成了忠实粉丝。

Soft-style cheese rolled in Sarawak peppers (in black), Herbes de Provence (the slightly green-ish ones to the right), and paprika (in red). / 软质奶酪之“沙捞越”奶酪（黑色的），Herbes de Provence 奶酪（右边略带绿色的），Parika 奶酪（红色的）

One of Annisa's many cheese "caves." / Annisa 的奶酪储藏柜之一

A Tomme cheese wheel. / 一整块圆形多姆奶酪

A Montasio cheese rind. / 一块蒙塔西欧奶酪

Full disclaimer: I am one such convert. As a self-professed cheese lover, I initially had large doubts about how cheeses made from the milk of Malaysian cows could ever begin to compare to the great Gouda, Cheddar, and Parmigiano-Reggiano of Europe. But as Annisa has proven, I was dead wrong.

Not only are her cheeses up to par with those stalwart Europe cheeses, her experimental, almost zany, approach to cheesemaking has many Malaysians heaping on praises. Some of her Tomme cheese wheels, for instance, have been spiked with bird’s eye chilies just to kick the piquancy up a notch to satiate the spice-loving Malaysian palate. She’s even infused local produce like bamboo leaves and Sarawak peppers into her cheeses, the latter of which she uses in a soft-style cheese she adoringly named Sarawak.

讲真，我也是“路转粉”其中之一。一开始，自诩为奶酪爱好者的我，很是怀疑用马来西亚当地牛奶做的奶酪怎么可能做出媲美欧洲的奶酪？！但 Annisa 证明，我这种想法大错特错。她制作的奶酪简直太好吃了！经她制作的豪达奶酪（Goudas）、瑞布罗申奶酪（Reblochon）和卡门贝尔奶酪（Camemberts），丝毫不逊色于欧洲的原产奶酪。除此之外，她还以十足的实验精神、甚至可以说有点奇特的奶酪制作方式赢得了许多马来西亚人的称赞。譬如，为了迎合马来西亚人偏辣的口味，她在一些多姆奶酪（Tomme）中加入鸟眼辣椒（Bird’s eye chili），升级其中刺激的辣味。她用一些本地特色食材制作奶酪，譬如一款她取名为“沙捞越”（Sarawak）的奶酪，就是加入了沙捞越胡椒制成的，甚至连竹叶都被她用来制作奶酪！

Soft-style cheeses. / 软质奶酪

Soft-style cheeses rolled in ash. / 包裹着草木灰的软质奶酪

Raised in Indonesia, Annisa’s indoctrination into the world of cheese started at a young age. Her family had close ties with a Dutch family who visited every winter bearing gifts. “I still remember the three things they [the Dutch family] would bring – chocolate, pâté, and cheese. Those three things, even now, I still cannot live without!” Annisa recalls fondly. Although she no longer keeps in close contact with the Dutch family, those foods, especially cheeses, have clearly left a mark on her very being. Annisa likens it to drugs, saying “[It’s like how] you can’t just introduce crack to somebody and stop giving [it to] them. Cheese is addictive!”

在印尼长大的 Annisa，很小的时候就开始接触奶酪。每年冬天，一家来自荷兰的好友都会带着礼物去她们家作客。“我还记得他们 (她的荷兰好友家庭) 每次会带三样礼物来：巧克力、馅饼（pate）和奶酪。这三样吃的，直到现在仍然是我的最爱！”Annisa 回忆道。虽然现在她和那个荷兰家庭的联系已经不如以前频繁，但这三样食物，尤其是奶酪，已经在她人生中留下了重要的印记。Annisa 把奶酪比作令人上瘾的“毒品”，她说：“你可不能一见面就跟别人介绍这些‘毒品’，因为奶酪可是会让人上瘾的，一旦尝了就停不了了！”

Checking on a young bird's-eye-chilli-infused Tomme cheese wheel. / 查看加入了鸟眼辣椒的多姆奶酪成熟与否

A bird's-eye-chilli infused Tomme cheese wheel. / 一整块已成熟的、加了鸟眼辣椒的多姆奶酪

While she has always been a cheese eater. Annisa’s true cheesemaking obsession came after her honeymoon in Italy, where she had Mozzarella di Bufala for the very first time. To Annisa, those gooey, pillowy mozzarella balls she had in Rome were the epitome of love at first bite. Understandably then, when she returned home, the lackluster faux-mozzarella balls sold at her local supermarkets were never quite able to satisfy her in the same way. Frustrated by this, Annisa resorted to making her very own mozzarella.

虽说 Annisa 一直是个“奶酪食客”，但她真正成为并爱上“奶酪制作者”的身份，却是她到意大利度蜜月之后。在罗马，她第一次尝到水牛马苏里拉奶酪（Mozzarella di Bufala），那些松软又粘糊糊的马苏里拉奶酪球，让她“一口定情”。而度完蜜月回国后，Annisa 再也不能满足于超市里那些暗淡无光的仿奶酪球了。于是，Annisa 决定自己亲手来制作马苏里拉奶酪。

A wedge of chilli-flake-infused mature Tilsit cheese. / 一块同样成熟了的、加了鸟眼辣椒的提尔西特奶酪

Slicing a Reblochon cheese. / 瑞布罗申奶酪切片

Little did she know at the time, she’s picked one of the most temperamental cheeses in the world to make. Heat it too much during the curd formation process and you’ll get empty, watery mozzarella shells; stretch it too much at too low a temperature and the cheese will resemble plastic-y squash balls. After many spectacular failures (which she often turned into halloumi or ricotta) and no end in sight, it was one of her French cheese mentors who pulled her out of this mozzarella spiral and got her working on other, simpler cheeses like the Welsh Caerphilly and Swiss Tomme. That was when her cheese-making prowess truly burgeoned. After mastering these simpler cheeses, Annisa quickly grew confident enough to try her hand at making longer-aging cheeses like Cheddar and Montasio. She then dabbled with making bloomy rind cheeses like Brie and Camembert, and finally came full circle back to mozzarella, which this time around, was a roaring success! And the rest, as they say, is history.

但是当时的她并不知道，她选了世界上最有“脾气”的奶酪来制作。在凝结过程中，马苏里拉奶酪如果加热过度，最后就会变成中空的、水汪汪的奶酪壳；如果温度太低，奶酪就会变得像坚韧的塑料球一样。所以一开始，她制作的马苏里拉奶酪总是不成功，口感较硬（比如像 Halloumi 或 Ricotta 那样的干酪）。惨遭多次失败，在她几乎快要绝望时，她的法国奶酪导师把她从这个“马苏里拉奶酪”的黑洞里救了出来。导师让她先去制作相对简单的硬质奶酪，譬如威尔士卡尔菲利干酪（Welsh Caerphilly）和瑞士的多姆奶酪。在这之后，她的奶酪制作技术才有了长足的进步。而在熟练掌握这些简单奶酪的制作方法之后，Annisa 开始有足够的信心去尝试制作半硬质奶酪，如切达奶酪和蒙塔西奥（Montasio）奶酪。接着，她开始制作布里奶酪和卡门贝尔奶酪这类白霉奶酪；最后，她才再开始制作马苏里拉这种新鲜奶酪，而这一次她终于获得了成功！之后的事情，大家都知道了。

A Montasio-style cheese wedge. / 一块蒙塔西奥奶酪

Since the beginning, Annisa’s business has only gone from strength to strength. In 2012, she started by selling her cheeses at festivals and bazaars around Kuala Lumpur and offered cheese-tasting session out of her small home in Mont Kiara. But with a great boom in business over the past two years, she now supplies her cheeses to many top restaurants in the city. Through it all, however, her focus has always been on keeping it personal and artisanal, satisfying all who steps into her home with her warm hospitality and infectious love for the cheesemaking craft. She especially loves introducing her cheeses to (read: blowing the minds of) local Malaysians who’ve never had a whiff of cheese in their lives, and on the other end of the spectrum, European expats craving for a genuine taste of their home country. And as far as I know, she’s never failed to impress.

Well, it’s only a matter of time before all of Kuala Lumpur, if not Malaysia, gets caught up in the heady, funky, but oh-so-addictive world of Annisa’s cheese. So here’s to a cheese-filled, funked-up future for Malaysia! All the Brie-est, Annisa!

2012年以来，Annisa 的奶酪公司越做越大。最开始，她只是在吉隆坡附近的集市上卖奶酪，或是在 Mont Kiara（马来西亚吉隆坡市中心西北部的一个乡镇）的家中举办奶酪试吃活动，直到去年，她的奶酪生意越来越成功，她现在已经是吉隆坡许多顶级餐厅的奶酪供应商。但制作奶酪这件事，对她来说，自始至终都出于个人对奶酪的热爱，和对手工制作工艺的热忱，她喜欢用自己制作的奶酪来招待家中的客人，希望让他们也爱上这门工艺。她特别喜欢把奶酪介绍给从来没吃过奶酪的马来西亚人，还有那些怀念家乡美食的欧洲人。而据我所知，还从来没有人对她的奶酪失望过。

用不了多久，Annisa 打造的那些风味“浓郁”、创新独特的奶酪必定会让所有吉隆坡人（甚至是整个马来西亚）都为之上瘾。让我们拭目以待奶酪在马来西亚发扬光大的一天吧！Annisa，请接受我最真“芝”的祝福！

Facebook: ~/milkywheycheese
Instagram: @milkywheycheese

Contributor & Photographer: Yi Jun Loh

脸书: ~/milkywheycheese
Instagram: @milkywheycheese

供稿人与摄影师: Yi Jun Loh

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Keeping It Simple with Daye Kim 简笔画是插画吗？

January 29, 2018 2018年1月29日

After graduating with a degree in visual design, Seoul-based artist Daye Kim decided to pursue illustration full-time. Kim’s artworks are fun and colorful, employing a distinct aesthetic comprised of solid colors and simple shapes, which she uses to tell anecdotes of the different people she’s encountered in her day-to-day life. “I get all of my inspiration from people, from their stories and the situations they create,” Kim shares with us. “It’s really fun to put all of these elements together and weave everything into a story of my own.”

来自韩国首尔的插画家 Daye Kim，目前任职于一家出版公司，工作之外，她会做些个人感到有趣的事，比如画插画。她画中最重要的主题始终是形形色色的人，“我从人身上得到灵感，他们的故事、他们生活的处境，是我创作之源。我喜欢把这些融合起来，融入到我的插画中去。”大学时主修视觉设计系的 Daye 坦言，她很注重对颜色的使用。她喜欢用简单的几种纯色来创作画面，并让它们与故事完美和谐地呈现出来。

Behance: ~/DYKIM
Instagram: @iamdykim

Contributor: Chen Yuan

Behance: ~/DYKIM
Instagram: @iamdykim

供稿人: Chen Yuan

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In Search of Home 你会把租的房子当作家吗？

January 26, 2018 2018年1月26日

Can you pinpoint the exact moment you left “home”? For some people, perhaps it was when they moved out of their parent’s houses and into their college dorms. For others, maybe the feeling didn’t hit until after graduation as they left behind their friends and took a leap of faith with a job in a new city. Either way, in the search for independence and opportunity, everyone eventually leaves behind a place they regard as home. And in this quest, they’re faced with the task of creating a brand new “home” for themselves.

More often than not, people are drawn to metropolises where opportunities are abundant. This migration in turns causes a constant demand for housing in major cities, where for most, renting is the norm due to the prohibitively expensive costs of buying property. But in China, as rent costs continue rising, it’s not uncommon for tenants to repeatedly move year after year. Curious about the effects of this constant displacement, we take a look at the lives of three Chinese youths living in Shanghai to explore how it affects their lifestyles, get their thoughts on living in a place that both belongs and doesn’t belong to them, and discuss what the idea of “home” truly means.

我们是从什么时候离开家的呢？大概是第一次兴奋地搬至学校宿舍，或者拿到大学通知书拖着不多的行李奔赴别的城市甚至国家吧。而对更多人来说，一切可能发生在毕业后，在陌生的城市拿到第一份工资，满怀信心决定打拼下去的那一刻。无论如何，在寻求独立和机遇的过程中，每个人最终都留在了他们认为是“家”的地方。

大城市机会充足，但人们租房的需求也会相应增加。随着租金成本的上升，租客年复一年地多次搬家的情况并不少见。如果下一年你仍旧不得不拖着行李箱，听着另一个中介喋喋不休的介绍，你会想要一个什么样的租住空间呢？

出于对这种不断辗转的生活的好奇，我们去到几个居住在外的不同的年轻人家里探险，有的人喜欢习惯带来的安全感，有的人看看空荡的四周希望自己可以说走就走，但出于上海的房价或者一些别的原因，他们都居住在这个不属于他们却又完全属于他们的空间里。我们和他们聊了聊租房对生活方式产生的影响，并随之探讨了下“家”的真正含义是什么。

Ian / Shanghai, China

“I don’t eat lao gan ma chili sauce because it’s too spicy.”

Born in 1994, Ian recently moved back to China after his studies abroad in Japan. Despite being Shanghainese and having parents that live in the city, he’s rented for most of his life since their house is inconveniently located on the outskirts of the city. Having rented for so long, he’s still unsure what “home” is supposed to feel like, but he’s content with what he has now. Today, like many, he shares an apartment with a few close friends as roommates.

Ian is someone who’s difficult to define, but his house is somewhat telling of his personality. Despite the spacial limitations, a large potted plant occupies the corner of his bedroom. From a never-been-used stretching machine to strangely shaped light bulbs, items without any immediately identifiable practicality populate his room. “I like things that are too pretty to be used, like a piece of kitchenware that’s so beautiful you just can’t bear using it. This is far more interesting to me than something that’s designed to be beautiful but without any functionality in mind.”

While Ian might seem borderline obsessive with decorating the apartment, he tells us he isn’t a materialistic person. Everything in his place appears to be flawlessly organized, yet a jar of opened lao gan ma chili sauce left out on the dining room table seems to break this illusion of perfection (even though it turned out to be his roommates). While he’s adamant about living independently, he isn’t overly concerned about personal space. “I don’t really care,” he tells us, shrugging. “It’s something I stopped caring about when I’m fine with roommates. It doesn’t matter because I wouldn’t be living in an apartment with people I don’t like in the first place.”

“我不吃老干妈的原因是它太辣。”

94年的 Ian 今年刚刚从日本留学回来，他算是一个纯正上海本地人了，但因为家离市区较远所以他很早就开始了租房生涯，从小经历寄宿生活的Ian对家的概念没有那么在意。跟很多上海租房青年一样，他跟自己的好朋友合租在这里。

房间不大，但一走进他的卧室立刻看到一棵巨大的植物，然后你会发现一些功能模糊的东西占据着这个空间：一个也许从来没被使用过的拉伸器，或者各种不同形状的灯。Ian 说：“好看到没有用处的东西非常好玩，比如一个锅子，因为太好看了导致你不想使用它，这比一开始就创造一个没有用的东西要更好玩。”

Ian 也是个没法被轻松定义的人，他超迷恋物质，喜欢用他们装饰自己的空间，但如果真的不买也不会觉得怎么样；他的生活似乎很虚拟，可是餐桌上也放着瓶盖打开的老干妈（最后证明是室友的物品）；需要自己住，但他对私人空间也有不同的看法，“（我）不太在乎这件事，觉得在选室友之前就决定了这件事。因为你不可能跟一个你不能认可的人住在一起。”

Kim / Daegu, South Korea

“My friends climb in through the window.”

Kim moved from Korea to Shanghai four years ago for college, and after graduating with a major in business management, he began working as a part-time model.

When we met up with him at his apartment, he was groggy-eyed, having obviously just woken up but still greeted us enthusiastically alongside Boto, his dog. After a quick tour of his quaint space, he plops down crosslegged in the middle of the living room, telling us, “I feel like I don’t really need furniture or a bed. Since I was a kid, I’ve gotten used to sleeping on the floor.”

Eyeing his sofa, he quickly changes his mind, “Actually, I’ve grown pretty fond of sleeping on the couch lately.”

As we began to discuss what some of his favorite activities at home are, he reveals himself to be a major movie buff and tells us he’s infatuated with colors and how they can be used (showing us his sketchbook in the process). He says, at times, he’ll completely lose track of a movie’s plot but still find himself engrossed by the cinematography.

He explains that having the peace and quiet to get lost in activities he enjoys is what gives him the feeling of being home. But despite treasuring his time alone, Kim still often hosts small get-togethers at his place. “Even though I’m renting, I try to treat my apartment like my actual home and not just a place I sleep at. I like to smoke and drink here. I also like inviting friends over to smoke and drink together. I always end up making plenty of great memories no matter where I live, so whenever I move away out of an apartment, I feel quite sentimental about it.”

“朋友从窗子爬进来。”

Kim 是四年前来到上海念大学的金牛座韩国男生，学的是工商管理，但同时也是一个时装模特。他大概是我们拍到的最真实的租客了，睡眼惺忪地为我们开门，迎接我们的还有完全不怕生的小狗 Boto，在客厅里席地而坐，每个地方看起来都可以随时舒服躺下，“我无所谓有没有床，在床上跟地上都可以睡，小时候习惯睡在地上，最近特别喜欢睡沙发上。”

聊到喜欢的电影，Kim 表示自己对色彩非常敏感，有时甚至可以不那么注重剧情内容去喜欢一个电影作品，他非常热衷于王家卫的《重庆森林》，也喜欢看法国电影，但唯一不看的是恐怖片。看电影、听音乐、创作……Kim 说，他享受一个人安稳又平静的独处时间，这让他有种家的感觉。但他也喜欢在家里和朋友小聚，“我会把租住的空间当成一个家而不止是一个房子，我喜欢在这里抽烟，喝酒，也喜欢请朋友到家里一起喝酒抽烟吃东西，在那个空间会有很多记忆，每次我搬离原本居住的地方，会非常不舍。”

Dimola / Hangzhou, China

“Having alcohol at the house is mandatory.”

“To be honest, I don’t really care that I don’t own the house,” Dimola says, laughing. “Of course, if I did own it, it’d even better.”

Even though she’s moved six times since being in Shanghai, she doesn’t seem to mind. Her room is filled with an assortment of souvenirs from her travels. Although none of them have any practical use, she still feels like they’re an important part of her life. This strong sense of attachment has been a defining part of her personality since she was young. When she was a child, she read a book with a character named Dimola and loved it so much she decided to adopt it as her English nickname. It’s stuck with her ever since.

Dimola tells us that she prefers the inviting glow of incandescent lights over the sterile feel of white fluorescent lights – she feels that this warm light and her collection of toys and souvenirs go together perfectly, lending her space a welcoming and comforting feel. However, she often feels conflicted when she visits the clean and neatly organized apartments of friends.

With a tinge of jealousy, she would think to herself: How is possible for them to keep their place so tidy?

But often times, this envy is replaced with pity: It must feel quite lonely here.

In the past, Dimola has worked as a choreographer and event planner. She now works full-time as a new media editor but dreams of being a pastry chef. Her ever-changing career choices have taken her from Shanghai to Beijing (albeit only for three months) and back again.

Having lived alone for so long, she admits that the idea of a place being “home” is becoming less and less clear to her. “Sometimes I guess I don’t regard my rented apartment as home per say. I’d say my true ‘home’ is still where my parents live. But, whenever I’m having a bad day, or if the weather is terrible, or if I’m having relationship troubles, whenever I get back to my apartment, it feels like everything will be OK.”

“家里一定要有酒。”

“其实我不太在意这是不是我的房子，当然是我的房子就更好啦。”已经搬过六次家的 Dimola 非常洒脱的看待租房这件事，她的房间里充满大大小小的旅行纪念品，但即使洒脱如她，也会在每次搬家时尽量保留这些看似无用的物品，就像 Dimola 这个来源于她小时候看的一本书里人物的名字一样，用了很久她都没有改。

因为不喜欢白炽灯的冷光，Dimola 屋里只亮着那盏暖黄色的台灯，温暖地包裹着整个屋子的繁杂，这也导致她去到那些家里空无一物的朋友家时，都会一边羡慕一边感叹这个人未免也太冷酷了吧。

在上海的几年之间她也试过去北京发展，但只在那里待了三个月就回来了。长期一个人在外生活，似乎对家的概念越来越模糊，“有时候也会想我可能没有把租的房子真正当成一个家，因为真正的家还是在父母那里。但很多时候，比如天气特别冷，或者工作非常不顺或者失恋，只要一回到这里就会觉得其实也没什么大不了的。”

Contributor: Shou Xing
Photographer: Ye Zi

供稿人: Shou Xing
摄影师: Ye Zi

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TRANSIT 满大街的滑手去哪里找？

January 25, 2018 2018年1月25日

TRANSIT is a new video series by Vans that aims to explore the different forms of public transportation in China, South Korea, Singapore, and Malaysia. The series follows members of its Asia skate team as they explore and rip up the pavement in iconic cities across the four countries. At the helm of the videography efforts is Tommy Zhao, a Shanghai-based skater, photographer, and filmmaker who’s been documenting the Chinese skateboarding scene for nearly a decade. Having witnessed firsthand the growth of Asia’s skate scene over the years, Zhao believes that there are better things ahead for the sport, especially with brands like Vans helping to champion local skaters. “I’ve had a really good relationship with Vans since they’ve started up in China, and they’ve been really supportive of not just my skate videos but the whole skateboard scene,” says Zhao. “Having a skate team, going on tours, and doing grassroots events, Vans has given the opportunity to a lot of skaters in China to live the dream life of skating and traveling to some of the best skate spots in the world.”

Vans最新推出的《TRANSIT》影片系列，旨在探索中国、韩国、新加坡和马来西亚，这四个亚洲国家的公共交通是如何重要，它们成功帮助了滑板选手穿梭于各地。该系列还介绍了亚洲滑手，在这四个亚洲国家，他们用滑板在人行道上探索，冲出一条新路。这一影片系列的掌镜人是Tommy Zhao。他是来自上海的滑手、摄影师和摄像师，曾以影像记录了中国滑板近十年的时间。Tommy高兴地说道，“滑板运动在亚洲正处于上升阶段，这太令人惊喜了。现在的滑手肯定比以前多。十年前的上海，你都很难在晚上的大街上找到滑手，但现在，你去任何一个三线城市，都有可能看到滑板爱好者在当地的广场上闲逛。”

Having witnessed firsthand the growth of Asia’s skate scene over the years, Zhao believes that there are better things ahead for the sport, especially with brands like Vans helping to champion local skaters. “I’ve had a really good relationship with Vans since they’ve started up in China, and they’ve been really supportive of not just my skate videos but the whole skateboard scene,” says Zhao. “Having a skate team, going on tours, and doing grassroots events, Vans has given the opportunity to a lot of skaters in China to live the dream life of skating and traveling to some of the best skate spots in the world.”

这些年来，Tommy亲眼见证了亚洲滑板界的成长，他觉得滑板运动在未来会有更好的前景，特别是当Vans这样的品牌也开始为当地滑板选手提供帮助了。Tommy说：“从Vans进入中国以来，我一直跟他们合作得很愉快，他们不仅支持了我拍摄滑板运动，也对整个滑板界提供了很多帮助。Vans组织了一支滑板队，举办巡回活动，去各地举办活动，让中国很多滑手可以去圆他们的滑板梦想——去世界各个最好的滑板场地玩滑板和旅行。”

By bringing together skaters from each featured region and giving them the chance to explore one another’s home turfs, TRANSIT captures the strong sense of community that’s intrinsic to the sport, demonstrating skateboarding’s status as a universal language that transcends cultural barriers. “When you get taken around by local skaters versus being there just as a tourist, you kind of become a local for that short amount of time,” Zhao comments on the experience. “It’s also refreshing to be reminded that even though we may all be from such different places, when we all sit down for a meal or to hang out, everyone’s the same. We just want to have a great time and share it with friends and family.”

在《TRANSIT》中，来自不同地区的滑手齐聚一堂，去往对方家乡，体验当地的滑板场地。影片展现出了滑板运动所特有的强烈团体感，证明滑板是一种超越文化隔阂的通用语言。Tommy说：“你不再是像个游客一样，而是能够跟着当地的滑手到处逛，在这段短暂的时间里，你几乎就变成了当地人一样。值得一提的是，即使我们来自不同的地方，但是，当大家坐下来吃饭或一起玩的时候，所有人都是一样的。我们只是希望玩得开心，并且与朋友和家人分享这份快乐。”

However, as to be expected, local authorities tend to be less than enthused with skaters visiting their neck of the woods. “Getting kicked out of spots is just part of skating,” Zhao says, shrugging. “It might rain, someone might get hurt, security might show up, or all of these might happen at once. When you travel around with eight to twelve people on these trips, it doesn’t make it any easier. It draws a lot of attention and a lot of the times you just have to figure out how to deal with security guards or the police.”

Skateboarding has long held a bad rep among non-skaters, being defined by its anti-authoritarian, anti-establishment roots. But with its induction into the 2020 Summer Olympics, skateboarding is becoming recognized as a legitimate sport on an international level. Zhao sees both the ups and downs of skateboarding’s newfound validation. On one hand, skateboarding will receive more exposure and support, which will in turn produce more skaters and open up opportunities for emerging talents. However, once skateboarding becomes propped up in the mainstream, it’s doomed for commercialization. “It can produce a lot of greed within the sport, and when a lot of politics get involved, things can get messy,” Tommy comments. “Apparently the Chinese Skateboard Olympic team are some kids they picked from the Shaolin Temple and have never skated in their life. They will be coached and taught how to skate as if it were gymnastics. Their mentality towards skateboarding will probably be a lot different than other kids who pick up skateboarding just for fun. But who knows. Maybe they’ll win gold.”

Check out the TRANSIT series below.

然而，在大多数城市，当地政府对滑板运动就不一定那么欢迎。“滑手常常会被人赶离场地。”Tommy耸耸肩说道，“可能会突然下起雨，说不定有人会受伤，保安可能会出现，也可能这一切同时发生。哪怕有8到12个人同行时，也不会让情况变得容易。因为这样会引来很多人关注，很多时候你还需要去应付保安或警察。”

在滑板圈外的世界，滑板一直以来名声都不太好。因为它是反权威、反体制的根源。但是，随着2020年夏季奥运会的举行，滑板正渐渐成为国际上公认的一项合法运动。滑板运动近年来的兴起，Tommy既看到优点，也看到了它的弊端。一方面，滑板运动将获得更多的曝光和支持，这会产生更多的滑板运动员，并为新兴的滑手健将提供机会。但另一方面，一旦滑板成为主流，它注定要走向商业化。Tommy说：“这可能会让体育运动也受到利益的影响，而当很多政治因素介入其中时，事情就会变得一团糟。”“显然，中国的滑板奥运代表队是他们从少林寺中挑选出来的一些孩子，他们在此前的生活中，从未接触过滑板。他们会被教导如何去滑，就像体操一样。所以他们玩滑板的心态可能也会和其他玩滑板的孩子大不相同。但这事，谁知道呢？也许他们会赢得金牌也说不定。”

一起来观看完整的影片吧。

Episode 1 – “Shaolin Shadows”

无法观看？前往优酷

The debut episode, “Shaolin Shadows,” sees Vans skaters from China, Hong Kong, and Malaysia meet up to explore China’s Hunan province and rip up the streets of Changsha and Zhengzhou’s Shaolin Temple.

在系列第一集影片《Shaolin Shadow》中，来自中国大陆、香港和马来西亚的亚太区滑手一起去探访了中国湖南，从长沙街头滑到郑州的少林寺。

Episode 2 – “Satellites”

无法观看？前往优酷

In the second episode, “Satellites,” Australian skaters Bibi Bradbury and Ben Currie join Vans riders from Hong Kong, China, and South Korea as they explore and skate the less-visited areas of Seoul.

在第二集影片《Satellites》，澳大利亚滑手Bibi Bradbury和Ben Currie加入香港、中国和韩国滑手的队伍，跟着他们去探访首尔鲜为人知的场地。

Episode 3 – “Be Like Water”

无法观看？前往优酷

The third installment of TRANSIT, “Be Like Water,” sees skaters from Vans China, Vans Hong Kong, and Vans Malaysia join forces to conquer the streets of Guilin and Nanning.

TRANSIT的第三集《Be Like Water》中，来自中国、香港和马来西亚的滑手们联合起来，在广西桂林和南宁的街头滑板驰骋。

Episode 4 – “Chasing the Malacca”

无法观看？前往优酷

In “Chasing the Malacca,” the fourth and final episode of the TRANSIT series, riders from Australia, Hong Kong, and China meet up with Malaysian skaters as they cruise through Singapore, Langkawi, and Kuala Lumpur in their quest to discover the perfect skate spots.

在《Chasing the Malacca》（TRANSIT系列的第四集，也是最后一集）中，来自澳大利亚、香港和中国的滑手与马来西亚滑手会合，在新加坡、兰卡威和吉隆坡滑板巡游并找寻最完美的溜冰地点。

Website: www.vans.com.cn
Instagram: @vans_cn
Weibo: ~/VansChina

Contributor: David Yen
Images & Videos Courtesy of Vans China

网站: vans.com.cn
Instagram: @vans_cn
微博: ~/VansChina

供稿人: David Yen
图片与视频由Vans China提供

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Finding Family with Cheuk-Yin 这是一次真正的回乡偶遇

January 25, 2018 2018年1月25日

Listen to the full story / 点击此处收听完整故事

We’re excited to announce a new partnership with Hong Kong-based media platform MAEKAN. Rallying around the motto of “Stories for the Curious,” their insightful storytelling and audio-centric approach have been a much-needed breath of fresh air in a digital landscape overpopulated with listicles and rehashed content.

Together, we’ll be creating a series of stories that celebrate culture and creativity in all shapes and forms.

For the debut of our collaboration, photographer Cheuk-Yin To shares a story about how he ended up in a special reunion at his ancestral village on a recent trip to China.

我们很高兴地宣布和位于香港的媒体平台 MAEKAN 建立了伙伴关系。他们以富有见地和音频为主的讲述方法，致力于“把故事讲给好奇的人听”（Stories for the Curious），而这恰是在充斥着大量数字内容的当下所急需注入的一股新生力。

我们将在一起创作一系列故事，以颂扬各种各样的文化和创意形式。

在我们合作的首篇文章中，摄影师 Cheuk-Yin To 分享了他近期到中国旅行时，竟无意中找到了他的祖籍村庄，并最终认亲团聚的故事。

As the modern world continues to race toward the future, we can find ourselves constantly groping for radical or material ways to find our identities in it. But while we might be obsessed with going forward and discovering the new, we sometimes forget to look back and to the old — to our own pasts.

Cheuk-Yin To is a photographer MAEKAN has worked with in the past. One summer evening, he dropped by the MAEKAN office where he shared a special story of how he took a side trip on a whim only to find both his roots and a few long-lost relatives.

随着现代世界不断地向未来迈步，我们急于以各种方法和手段来找寻自我认知。但就在我们埋头向前和发现新知的过程中，我们时常会忘记回首过往——我们自身的过往。

Cheuk-Yin To 是曾与 MAEKAN 合作过的摄影师。在某个夏夜，他们就在 Yin 的办公室里听他讲述了一个特别的故事——那是在一次无意的旅行中，Yin 竟意外发现了自己失散已久的远亲和血脉的故事。

To Family Village sits on one of the many distributaries in the Pearl River Delta region. / Yin老家的村庄位于珠江三角洲地区众多分支之一

“To be honest, it kinda broke the spell a bit. I wanted my ancestral village to be with like, old school donkey carts and stuff. It’s not like that anymore. There’s mopeds, there’s smartphones. Everyone’s in on this now.”

— Yin remarking on his unexpectedly modern ancestral “village.”

“老实说，这有点出人意料。我一度希望我祖辈的村庄，还留有老式的驴车和其他东西。但事实已经不是那样了，那里有电瓶车，还有智能手机。大家都迈入了现代社会。”

——Yin 不曾料想到祖辈的“村庄”早已现代化了

Yin with his uncles and cousin on the far right. His grandfather’s older cousin is seated. / Yin和他的远房叔伯及表亲，他的大叔公坐在正中

Yin’s grandfather’s cousin (the younger of two brothers). / Yin的小叔公

Yin’s grandfather’s cousin (the elder of two brothers). / Yin的大叔公

“Within the next generation, it’s not going to be the same anymore. I don’t think kids these days will actually stay in these villages; they’ll all go to the cities and no one’s going to maintain the traditions.”

“到了下一代，这里的情况就会变得不一样了。我觉得现在的孩子不会再待在这些村庄里，他们都会去往城市，要留存这些传统都后继无人了。”

The two girls, Qingqing (left) and Yingying (right) are the daughters of a cousin Yin did not meet and are referred to as nieces. / 青青和莹莹，这两个小女孩是Yin的侄女，她们的父亲是Yin未曾谋面的表亲

Lunch prepared the first day of Yin’s visit. / Yin第一天到访时乡亲为他准备的午餐

Yin’s aunt with the family Gai Lan crop. / Yin的阿姨和自家的芥兰田

Yin’s uncle and nephew (cousin once removed). / Yin的叔叔和侄子

Yin’s cousin. / Yin的侄子

Eating sugar cane the traditional way. / 嚼甘蔗

Yin’s niece “plays” with a chicken during an evening stroll with the family. / Yin的侄女在和家人傍晚散步时逗鸡玩

“My grand aunt made a feast that could have fed double the amount of people. […] We all ate together and watched TV at the same time, just like every other Chinese family.”

“我的叔祖母做了一桌大宴，都够两倍的人来吃了……我们都聚在一起边吃边看电视，就像其他中国家庭一样。”

“To Family Village, Wangniudun Town, Dongguan City” / 老家之村，东莞，望牛墩镇

“You can’t describe this experience. If someone else were to find their roots — completely unintentionally…I think that’s the reason why I was so happy.”

“你无法用语言描述这次的经历。如果是别人这样发现了自己的血脉——在完全是无心插柳的情况下……我猜这就是我这么开心的原因吧。”

This story is part of a content partnership and media exchange between Neocha and MAEKAN. To see more from our collaboration, click here.

本文为 Neocha 和 MAEKAN 媒体及内容合作篇。点击此处获悉更多我们的合作内容。

Media Partner: MAEKAN

Script & Narration: Nate Kan
Audio: Elphick Wo
Photographer: Cheuk-Yin To

Images, Audio, & Text Courtesy of MAEKAN

媒体合作伙伴: MAEKAN

供稿人: Nate Kan
音频制作: Elphick Wo
摄影师: Cheuk-Yin To

图片、音频与文字由MAEKAN提供

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The Ghats of Varanasi 印度之魂

January 23, 2018 2018年1月23日

Devotees bathing at a ghat, in the river Ganges. / 信徒们在瓦拉纳西河里沐浴

Varanasi, or Kashi as Hindus call it, is regarded as one of the holiest places in India. It’s also one of the oldest continually inhabited places in the world, and in modern times, it continues to receive both devotees and tourists in astounding numbers day after day. While Varanasi holds a reputation of being the spiritual capital of India due to its association with various religious figures, the historical city is most closely associated with Lord Shiva, one of the principal deities of the Hindu pantheon, and who, according to legend, founded the city.

瓦拉纳西（Varanasi），印度人又称之为“卡西”（Kashi），被认为是印度最神圣的地方之一，也是世界上最古老的、持续拥有长居人口的城市之一。而现在，它每天都以惊人的数目接待信徒和游客。由于与众多传奇宗教人物之间的联系，这座城市历来被誉为印度或印度教的精神之都，其中，它和湿婆神（Lord Shiva）之间的联系最为密切。湿婆神是印度教万神殿的主神之一，传说也是这座城市的创造者。

A sadhu reads his texts at the ghats. / 一个印度教的苦行僧在河坛上读经

Being such an ancient city, Varanasi has been demolished and rebuilt countless times over the years. The city as we know it now was primarily built by the Maratha Empire in 1700 A.D. They built the iconic ghats, or the riverfront steps leading to the banks of the Ganges River, which allowed people to easily access the river for religious rites, cleaning, and bathing. Although the ghats have fallen in disrepair over the years, they continue to be the center of cultural and religious activity in the city, with people all over the world making the pilgrimage to Varanasi just to experience them in person.

作为一个如此古老的城市，瓦拉纳西在漫长岁月中经历过无数次的拆毁和重建。我们今天所看到的这座城市，主要是由马拉塔帝国（Maratha Empire）建立于公元 1700 年。当时他们还建造了具有标志性的河坛（ghats），也就是通往恒河河岸的台阶。这些河坛便于人们走进恒河举行宗教仪式，或者进行清洁和沐浴。虽说如今的河坛早已年久失修，但它们仍然是文化和宗教活动的中心，许多人会专门到瓦拉纳西朝圣，只为了去参观下这些河坛。

Women make ritual offerings to the Ganges. / 妇女们祈祷并向恒河献祭

Devotees descend upon the ghats early in the morning. / 信徒们清晨走下河坛

Priests observe their morning rituals. / 祭祀们观看他们的晨礼

Activity at the ghats starts in the early hours of the morning. Devotees descend the steps to bathe in the Ganges. The river is worshipped as the holiest one in Hinduism and bathing in it is believed to rid one of all sins that one might have committed in life. In addition to taking a dip in the river, devotees also visit to pray with offerings of flowers and oil lamps. Alongside these devotees, Hindu priests perform their own daily prayers. While their offerings look similar to the earlier devotees, the incantations are much more complex.

黎明之时，人们已经聚集在河坛活动。信徒们迈下台阶，在恒河中沐浴。恒河被当作是印度教中最为神圣的一条河，人们认为在恒河中洗澡可以消除所犯下的一切罪恶。除了在河中沐浴，信徒们还向恒河献上花朵和油灯，作为贡品。而在信徒旁，印度教祭司也会进行他们的每日祈祷。虽然他们的贡品看上去与之前普通信徒的进贡的差不多，但他们所念的咒语却要复杂得多。

People change into dry clothes, after bathing in Ganges. / 人们在恒河沐浴后换上干衣服

Varanasi also offers an interesting look at the contradicting ideals around shame and nudity in India. Conservative-minded individuals who might frown upon public displays of affection or revealing clothing like short skirts or low neckline blouses won’t hesitate to publically bathe and change clothes along the ghats, even with hordes of photographers all around.

有趣的是，在圣城瓦拉纳西，还能看到印度人对廉耻和裸体相互矛盾的观点。思想保守的人们对公共场合亲密行为皱眉不已，对短裙或低领衬衫等暴露衣着也会反感，但他们同时也会毫不犹豫就跳入恒河里沐浴，即使周围都是摄影师也毫不在意。

A priest meditates at a ghat in Varanasi. / 在瓦拉纳西，一位牧师在河潭边打坐冥想

A Buddhist monk conversing with a Hindu monk. / 一个佛教僧侣正在与一个印度教僧侣交谈

The ghats also reveal an interesting perspective on how some Hindus perceive certain devotees and their motives for visiting the city. Tongue-in-cheek phrases are inscribed and penned in Hindi along the walls, urging devotees to think rather than blindly follow. One phrase takes a dig at people who sin without hesitation and return to the Ganges to bathe and be absolved of them.

河坛还为人们提供了一个有趣的视角，以观察信徒和他们之所以造访这座城市的动机。墙上随处可见涂写的警句，就敦促着信徒去思考，不要盲目地随大流。而有条短句就讽刺了有些人总是不经思考就做坏事，然后一次次回到恒河里洗澡，以期洗清自己的罪行。

Manikarnika ghat on the night of Dev Deepawali festival. / 迪瓦里节（又称排灯节）之夜，马尼卡尼卡河坛

The burning ghat by the day. / 白天进行火葬仪式的马尼卡尼卡河坛

The ghat that arouses the most curiosity, especially amongst non-Indians, is the burning ghat. It’s known as the Manikarnika Ghat, and it’s where more than three hundred cremations take place every week. The Dom community, a low-caste community of corpse burners in Varanasi, carries out the cremations day after day. Their work never stops, not even for a second; even during times of festivities, the cremations continue on.

Dying in Varanasi and what it means to Hindus is a concept that confounds most. A Western mind, familiar with Abrahamic religions, is used to thinking of death as finality. However, in Hinduism, life is believed to be a circle of birth and death. A soul keeps on taking births so as to bear the fruits and punishments of actions of past life. It goes on until the soul’s ledger of both is balanced, which might take all eternity. One of the ways to be free of that is to die in Varanasi and have the ashes immersed in the Ganges after the cremation. This is why dying in the city is an important affair and the cremations seem endless.

在外国游客看来，最让他们好奇的，通常都是那个用来进行火葬的河坛，它被称为马尼卡尼卡河坛（Manikarnika Ghat）。每星期，这里都会举行 300 多次火葬仪式。“Dom”社群——圣城瓦拉纳西中负责焚尸的一个低种姓社群，负责执行火葬仪式。他们的工作忙得不可开交，甚至连一秒钟的休息时间都没有。并且即使在节庆日活动期间，火葬仪式也会照常举行。

而死亡在瓦拉纳西及其对印度教徒的意义，则是最令人困惑的部分。在西方思想中，人们熟于亚伯拉罕诸教（Abrahamic religions），死亡往往被视为终结。然而在印度教中，生命则被认为是生与死的循环。一个灵魂会不断重生，去承受前世应得的善果和恶报。这样的轮回循环会一直持续，永恒不灭，直到灵魂帐目中的功过相抵。这也是为什么“死亡”在这座城市有着如此重要的意义，而火葬仪式也永远不会停止。

Preparations for the Ganga Aarti are underway. / 恒河暮祭的准备工作

As the day draws to a close, tourists start gathering at the Dashashwamedh Ghat. Every day, between 6 to 7 pm, five young priests simultaneously perform what is known as Ganga Aarti, a prayer to the Ganges, and the rituals go on for a little over an hour. As the prayers conclude, the day at the ghats is officially over, but locals will remain along the ghats to relax, play musical instruments, and sing Bollywood songs.

随着夜幕降临，游客开始聚集在达萨斯瓦梅朵河坛（ Dashashwamedh Ghat）。每天晚上六点到七点之间，五名年轻的祭司会同时表演“恒河暮祭”（Ganga Aarti）。这是对恒河的祈祷，整个仪式持续一个多小时当祈祷结束的时候，河坛一天的活动才算正式结束。但人们还是会一直逗留在河坛沿路。当地人喜欢在这里闲逛，演奏乐器或演唱宝莱坞歌曲。

A child priest performs the prayer. / 做结束祈祷的儿童牧师

Varanasi is a place that is hard to make sense of, for both Hindus and non-Hindus. It takes time to begin fathoming the system at work beneath all the apparent chaos. Reading about Varanasi prior to visiting might walk you through the history of Varanasi and what Hinduism is all about, but the only way to truly understand the multilayered city is to experience it in person.

As philosopher Karl Marx once said, “Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people.” However, perhaps religion should be seen as more than simply a provider of temporary comfort. These holy rituals and ceremonies are a preservation of traditions that perpetuate cultural values and ideologies – essentially, they’re celebrations of life. Nowhere is this more apparent than at the ghats of Varanasi.

无论是对印度教徒还是印度人来说，瓦拉纳西都是一座令人捉摸不透的城市。你往往需要在这里生活一段时间才能明白，在混乱的表象之下，这里依然有一种系统性。在你到访瓦拉纳西之前，先读一本相关的书籍，可以引导你去了解它的历史和宗教；但若要真正感受这座城市的魅力，唯一的办法就是亲自去体验一下这里的河坛。

宗教，哲学家卡尔·马克思（Karl Marx）曾说，“它是被压迫生灵的叹息，是无人性世界中的人性，亦是无灵魂之境中的灵魂。宗教是人民的鸦片。”但是，它或许不仅应被认为是短暂的慰藉。宗教中这些神圣的典礼和仪式沿袭了传统，使其文化价值和意识形态得以留存——本质上来说，也是对生命的庆典。而这一点，恰在瓦拉纳西的河坛上表现得淋漓尽致。

Contributor & Photographer: Garima Garg

供稿人与摄影师: Garima Garg

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First Generation 拥有双重身份的一代人

January 23, 2018 2018年1月23日

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First Generation is a short film from directors Jeannie Nguyen and Andrew Yuyi Truong that showcases the Asian-American coming-of-age experience. Set in the 1990s, the film follows protagonist My-Linh, a young, misled Vietnamese-American girl who must decide how she will fit into the two worlds that she inhabits. With the absence of her overworked mom, she must rely on the guidance of her friends and the media to understand where she belongs.

《First Generation》是由 Jeannie Nguyen 和 Andrew Yuyi Truong 导演的一部短片，讲述的是亚裔美国年轻人的青春成长故事。影片故事发生在二十世纪九十年代，主角 My-Linh 是一位年轻且迷惘的越南裔美国女孩，如何融入自己所居住的两个世界是让她一直苦恼的问题。由于母亲的工作过于忙碌，对于 My-Linh 来说，她只能依靠朋友和媒体的指引，才能了解她的归属所在。

Initially sparked by the concept of showcasing Asian-American female style during the 1990s, the film was shot over the course of two long days in May of 2017. Jeannie tells Neocha, “We’re from the Bay Area, and we’re not too sure if the style spanned across the States, but it was unique and a somewhat rebellious way of presenting oneself – heavy set make-up, extra-wide baggy pants juxtaposed with tiny tank tops, hair done in half cornrows, and embellished with glittery butterfly clips. Looking back at it now, it’s interesting to us to see how this minority group rocked such a bold style. So after, we figured that we wanted to create a film during this time period and tackle issues of beauty and fitting in.”

这在 2017 年 5 月拍摄了长达两天的短片，最初的灵感是想展现 20 世纪 90 年代美国亚裔女性的风格。Jeannie 告诉 Neocha：“我们来自美国湾区，所以也不太确定当时的服装风格是不是在美国各地都流行，那是一种独特又有点叛逆的个性风格：浓艳的妆容，大号宽松的裤子搭配紧身的小背心，半侧头发扎着地垄沟辫（cornrow，非洲辫的一种），再别上闪亮的蝴蝶发夹。现在回想起来，一个少数团体会有这样大胆的风格，挺让人意外的，也挺有意思的。所以，之后我们就决定以这段时期为背景拍一部电影，探讨当时的审美风格和社会融入的问题。”

One of the primary themes of the film is the impact of mainstream media on identity, self-image, and perceptions of beauty. Jeannie shares, “As with many young minority females, when I was younger, I never truly understood how I fit in with society. With the media being a huge subconscious influence, I felt less of a woman when I saw blue-eyed, blonde models who were in every beauty commercial and graced the cover of every beauty magazine and. I was brainwashed by the media and started to resent my Asian descent. When we were represented in the media, we’re known as submissive and nerdy. Luckily, my mom canceled cable so I stopped watching television beginning my high school year, and I truly believe that helped me realize that the majority of things we’re exposed to is nonsense. With that idea in mind, we wanted to create a film that young Asian-Americans can relate to – a movie that can help them see through the bullshit.”

这部电影的主题之一，旨在探讨主流媒体如何影响人们的身份认同、自我形象和审美。Jeannie 说：“和许多少数团体里的年轻女孩一样，我年轻的时候一直都不知道怎样才能真正融入这个社会。而且媒体会对人们有巨大的潜意识影响，当我看到所有时尚杂志和广告中，总是出现金发碧眼的模特时，我会觉得自己不如她们好看。我被媒体洗脑，开始憎恨自己身上的亚裔血统。那时的媒体总是将我们描述成顺从且乖巧的书呆子。所幸我妈妈后来取消了有线电视，所以我在高一的时候就不看电视了，我真心觉得这才帮助我意识到，之前我们在媒体上看到的大部分东西都是无稽之谈。有了这个想法后，我们就想要拍一部年轻亚裔美国人有共鸣的电影，帮助大家看穿这些‘谎言’。”

Website:
mosss.co
andrewyuyitruong.com

Instagram:
@andrewyuyitruong
@jeeb0t

Vimeo: ~/andrewyuyitruong

Contributor: George Zhi Zhao

网站:
mosss.co
andrewyuyitruong.com

Instagram:
@andrewyuyitruong
@jeeb0t

Vimeo: ~/andrewyuyitruong

供稿人: George Zhi Zhao

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Everyday Abstractions 平面跟现实之差

January 22, 2018 2018年1月22日

Andhika Ramadhian is a 21-year-old Indonesian graphic designer and photographer who’s best known for his stunning minimalist images. Inspired by architecture and the works of other minimalist photographers, Ramaddhian began capturing scenes from his daily life with his iPhone and DSLR camera. Using Photoshop, he masterfully renders a layer of magical surrealism onto his mundane snapshots. With his keen understanding of color and geometric harmony, he’s able to transform the ordinary into the extraordinary. In his own words, “I create another world which is completely abstracted from the reality of my imagination.”

Andhika Ramadhian，一位21岁的来自印度尼西亚平面设计师和摄影师，他用镜头创作了惊人的极简主义图片。受到建筑设计和其他极简派摄影师的启发后，Andhika 就着手用他的 iPhone 和 DSLR 相机捕捉日常生活中的场景。为了实现超现实的图像质量，Ramadhian的后期处理方法需要用 Photoshop 进行大量的编辑。凭借着对色彩和几何和谐的敏锐理解，Andhika 创造出神奇的瞬间，将平凡变成非凡。用他自己的话说，“我创造了另一个完全脱离了我想象的现实的世界。”

Instagram: @andhikaramadhian

Contributor: George Zhi Zhao

Instagram: @andhikaramadhian

供稿人: George Zhi Zhao

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Deciphering the Human Experience 穿越你的身心

January 19, 2018 2018年1月19日

Born in Taipei and raised in Shanghai, Jocelyn Tsaih is an illustrator, animator, and designer currently based in New York City. Her artistic style is defined by a distinct, minimalist approach that’s complemented by her quirky sense of humor.

More often than not, Tsaih’s work features a mysterious, amorphous character that’s meant to embody the various facets of modern life. The character, initially based on a stick figure, evolved as a way for Tsaih to convey abstract concepts derived from her own experiences.

在台北出生，在上海长大的 Jocelyn Tsaih 目前长居在纽约，是一名插画家和设计师。她的作品风格简约，且充满着古怪的幽默感。

Jocelyn 的大部分作品里会出现一个神秘的、不定形的角色，意在表达现代生活的方方面面。而这个角色最初是她以火柴人为原型创作的，后来演变成她从自己的经历中传达抽象概念的一种方式。

“It sounds kind of cheesy, but I started drawing it as a way to express my internal conflicts and to represent anything human,” she shares. “As I explored different ways of conveying what I was feeling, I started to use the figure in ways that are more abstract. I think my thought process is that even though we are human, a lot of things about us are intangible, like emotions and feelings.”

“虽然听起来有点俗气，但我一开始画这个角色是为了抒发内心的冲突，表达关于人类的一切。” Jocelyn 说，“随着我尝试用不同的方式来传达自己的感受，我也开始用更抽象的方式来表现这个火柴人。我的想法是，作为人类，很多关于我们的事情都是无形的，譬如情感和感觉。”

Tsaih currently works at WeWork as a full-time graphic designer and illustrator. Outside of her full-time job, she’s equally busy with a constant juggling act between personal and freelance projects. She’s already accumulated an impressive list of clients including Adobe Photoshop, Condé Nast, Nickelodeon, Tictail, and GIPHY. But despite her professional accomplishments, there was a time when Tsaih felt uncertain about her future as an artist. As a teenager, many of her peers discouraged her desire to pursue a career in the arts. It was only after a period of self-doubt and confusion that she decided to trust her own judgment: “I believed that art was valuable, and I pushed myself because I didn’t want people’s skewed perceptions to be validated.”

Jocelyn 目前作为一名全职平面设计师和插画家任职于共享办公空间 WeWork。不上班的时候，她会去创作自己的个人项目和自由职业项目，她曾经合作过的客户里包括 Adobe Photoshop、康泰纳仕集团（Condé Nast）、美国儿童节目频道 Nickelodeon，以及 Tictail 和 GIPHY 网站。虽然如今在事业上获得成功，但曾经有一段时间，Jocelyn 也不确定自己是否真的能成为一名艺术家。十几岁的时候，她的许多同龄人都不鼓励她去追求艺术事业。在经过一段时间的自我怀疑和困惑之后，她才终于决定相信自己的判断：“我相信艺术是有价值的，我不断推动自己去努力，是因为我不希望证明人们扭曲的看法是对的。”

For Jocelyn, creativity comes from being open-minded; it comes from a willingness to dive head first into new experiences, whether it’s interacting with different people or being in an unfamiliar environment. She tells us, “A lot of my work represents my reaction to things, so the more experiences I have, the more ideas I’ll have to turn into drawings.” These days, she’s begun dabbling with ceramics and paintings – processes that, for her, require a lot more time and deeper reflection on the underlying concepts she intends to explore. Patience is a fundamental part of her creative process. “90% of the time is spent thinking an idea over and 10% of the time is spent making the actual work,” she explains, “The final result often looks simple, but it usually takes a long time for me to get to that point, although I know it doesn’t look like it.”

对于 Jocelyn 来说，创意来自于开放的心态和尝试新事物的经历，或是与不同的人互动，或是置身于异国的环境中。她告诉我们：“我的许多作品都表达了我对事物的反应，所以，我的经历越丰富，我才能有越来越多的想法来创作成画。”近来，她一直在涉猎陶瓷和绘画，对她来说，这些艺术创作过程需要花大量的时间对作品内在概念进行反思。Jocelyn 表示，耐心是她创作过程的关键。她解释说：“ 90% 的时间是花在思考上面的，只有 10% 的时间才是花在实际的创作中。最终的作品看起来很简单，但我其实需要很长的时间才能画出来，虽然我知道它看起来不像。”

After six years in New York City, Tsaih is now planning a move to San Francisco in the coming year. She sees this as an opportunity to explore a new environment and experience a change of pace. She shares with us, “Having come from Shanghai to New York, I feel like I’ve only known how to live in very stimulating, fast-paced environments. It might be a little challenging to shift to a slower pace of life, and I might end up hating it, but I hope some good things will come out of the experience either way!”

在纽约生活了六年后，Jocelyn 计划在新的一年搬到旧金山，体验新的环境，转换一下生活节奏。她说：“从上海来到纽约，我觉得自己好像只在紧张刺激、快节奏的环境里生活过。要转变到一种较慢的生活节奏，可能会有点挑战性，甚至我可能最终会讨厌这种生活。但我希望不管怎样，都能在这次经历中取得一些好的收获。”