The Coldest Place on Earth 极寒以北

October 28, 2021 2021年10月28日

From Alexey Vasilyev's series My Dear Yakutia Alexey Vasilyev《My Dear Yakutia》

Alexey Vasilyev jokes that living in Yakutia is akin to a curse.

“I thought that maybe all bad photographers end up here when they die,” quips Vasilyev, a renowned Yakutian photographer who’s created a monumental body of work documenting life in the region, a part of Russia’s Siberian Arctic.

Also known as the Sakha Republic, Yakutia is perhaps best known for its frigid climate and vast tundras. Nearly one million people live spread out across the region’s three million square kilometers (one-fifth of Russia’s total territory)—a place equal in size to India, which is home to 1.3 billion. Its capital city Yakutsk is the world’s coldest, where winter temperatures frequently plunge to -40 degrees celsius. In Yakutsk, the buildings stand on stilts to ensure that permafrost, the layers of frozen soil that runs 450 feet deep, don’t melt. Winter fog blooms are also common: the extreme seasonal cold traps hot air from humans, homes, and cars that leave the city streets looking like scenes out of Silent Hill.

Yet Yakutia’s rich cultural legacy, complex history, and intertwined identities reveal a part of the world that’s much more than frozen land.

Alexey Vasilyev 开玩笑说，在雅库特生活就像被诅咒了一样。

“也许所有糟糕的摄影师死后都会来到这里，” 他打趣道。Alexey 在雅库特当地算是位著名的摄影师，他拍摄的大量作品，记录着这个俄罗斯西伯利亚北极圈地区的生活。

雅库特也被称为萨哈共和国，那里极度严寒，拥有广阔的苔原，占地约 300 万平方公里（是俄罗斯国土总面积的五分之一），生活着近 100 万人口；与印度的国土面积旗鼓相当，后者却拥有 13 亿人口。首都雅库茨克是世界上最冷的城市，冬季气温时常在零下 40 摄氏度。在雅库茨克，建筑都要建在高处，以避免 450 英尺深的永冻层融化。与此同时，冬季的大雾天气也时有发生：人类、住宅和汽车产生的热空气困于极端的季节性寒流中，令整座城市看起来就像是《寂静岭》(Silent Hill) 中的场景。

然而，雅库特绝非只是一片遥远的冰雪世界，这里还蕴藏着丰富的文化遗产、错综复杂的历史以及多元的身份。

From Alexey Vasilyev's series My Dear Yakutia Alexey Vasilyev《My Dear Yakutia》

Epic tales date the Sakha people’s history back to the 10th century, though not much is known about their early history. Yakuts’ modern story begins in the 17th century, in parallel with Imperial Russia’s eastward expansion. By this time, the semi-nomadic Yakuts were already a hybrid community. As Sakha tribes moved throughout northeastern Siberia, they mixed with indigenous groups like the reindeer-herding Evenk, while other evidence points to ancestral ties stemming from Turkic-speaking tribes of the Altai Mountains and Mongol groups in Central Asia.

雅库特人的历史最早可以追溯到 10 世纪，但人们对他们早期的历史知之甚少。雅库特人的现代史开始于 17 世纪，当时正值俄罗斯帝国向东扩张，半游牧的雅库特人已经形成混居的社区：萨哈部落在穿越西伯利亚东北部时，与驯鹿牧民鄂温克人 (Evenk) 等土著群体混居；还有其他证据表明，他们与中亚突厥语系的阿尔泰山部落和蒙古部落也有血缘关系。

From Alexey Vasilyev's series My Dear Yakutia Alexey Vasilyev《My Dear Yakutia》

The Sakha Republic now occupies a distinct, and extraordinary, place in Russia—where indigenous Siberian traditions, Asian heritage, and links with Russia and the global Arctic, collide.

The chance to safeguard Yakutia’s story through photography, and to tell this story to a global audience, is what drives Vasilyev’s dedication to photography. Nearly ten years ago, equipped with only his iPhone, Vasilyev first began shooting daily life in Yakutsk as a way to stave off boredom—and manage an on-and-off battle with alcohol. “In my case, alcohol and creativity aren’t compatible,” he says.

如今，雅库特地处俄罗斯一片非凡的区域。在这里，西伯利亚土著传统、与亚洲的血缘联系以及与俄罗斯和全球北极社区的联系全部交融于一体。

通过影像来保护雅库特的历史，并向全球观众讲述它的故事，是促使 Alexey 投身摄影的原因。大概在十年前，Alexey 正处于断断续续的戒酒努力中，因为无聊，他第一次拿起自己的 iPhone 手机开始拍摄雅库茨克的日常生活。“对我来说，酒精和创意是互不相容的，”他说道。

From Alexey Vasilyev's series My Dear Yakutia Alexey Vasilyev《My Dear Yakutia》

Vasilyev’s commitment to his craft paid off. Global publications like TIME and National Geographic have showcased Vasilyev’s works. And this year, Vasilyev’s Sakhawood series documenting Yakutia’s grassroots film industry won him first place in the category of “Contemporary Issues: Stories” from the World Press Photo—one of the most prestigious prizes in global photojournalism.

“I now understand that I’m not only photographing for myself, but for others,” Vasilyev says. “I’ve begun to believe that I am… a chronicler of Yakutia. I hope my art can help answer the question for Yakuts—who are we and what place do we occupy in the world?”

这些年来，Alexey 对于摄影的投入得到了回报，他的作品被刊登在《时代》和《国家地理》等全球出版物上。今年，Vasilyev 记录雅库特草根电影产业的纪实摄影系列《Sakhawood》为他赢得了著名世界新闻摄影比赛(WPP)“当代热点类：图片故事”的第一名。

Alexey 说：“现在我明白了，我不仅仅是在为自己拍照，也是在为别人拍照。我开始相信，我就是雅库特的记录者。我希望自己的作品能够回答雅库特人心中的疑问：我们是谁？我们在世界处于什么样的位置？”

From Alexey Vasilyev's series My Dear Yakutia Alexey Vasilyev《My Dear Yakutia》

Between Europe and Asia

As a Eurasian nation, Russia’s yearning to be viewed as a “civilized” western nation, largely began with Peter the Great’s westernizing reforms during his reign from 1682 to 1725. But that didn’t stop Imperial Russia’s eastward turn in a bid for more land, resources and power.

Most of Russia’s Asia colonization took place in the 17th century—including the empire’s conquest of the Sakha people and the annexation of territories from a weakened Qing China. In 1632, Russians and Yakuts made their first contact when bands of Cossack soldiers loyal to the Tsarist empire built forts in the Lena Valley, in what was the Yakuts’ heartland. One of these Cossack forts eventually became the settlement of Yakutsk. Imperial Russia then annexed the region.

The empire imposed yasak—a Mongol-Turkic word used to denote a tax established by law (the Mongol empire’s emperor Genghis Khan called his laws the “yasak of Genghis Khan”)—on indigenous peoples in Yakutia like the Yakuts, Evenki, and Chukchi. These groups paid tribute to Tsarist Russia in fur—of sables, foxes, and more, which helped prop up their fur trade.

界于欧亚之间

作为一个欧亚国家，俄罗斯渴望成为西方“文明”国家之列，这种渴望很大程度上始于彼得大帝 (Peter the Great) 在 1682 年至 1725 年统治期间发起的西化改革。但这并没有阻止俄罗斯帝国为了争夺更多土地、资源和权力而向东扩张。

俄罗斯在亚洲的殖民活动大多发生在 17 世纪，包括征服雅库特人以及从没落的清帝国手中吞并领土。1632 年，忠于沙俄的哥萨克士兵在雅库特中心地带的勒拿山谷 (Lena Valley) 修建堡垒，这是俄国人和雅库特人的第一次接触。其中的哥萨克堡垒后来成为了雅库茨克据点，之后又被沙俄吞并。

沙俄对雅库特人、鄂温克人和楚科奇人等雅库特的土著人民征收“yasak”，即蒙古突厥语中的法定税收（蒙古皇帝成吉思汗称他所制定的法律为“成吉思汗的 yasak”），这些部落向沙俄进贡貂皮、狐狸皮等，这进一步促进了他们的毛皮贸易。

From Alexey Vasilyev’s ongoing series Ysyakh Alexey Vasilyev《Ysakh》

Fyodor Dostoevsky, one of Russia’s most loved writers, summed up the country’s long-standing identity crisis in the late 19th century: “Russia is not only in Europe, but also in Asia. The Russian is not only a European, but also an Asiatic” given that two-thirds of the country is geographically in Asia.

The writer proclaimed: “In Europe, we were slaves. But in Asia, we shall be masters. Our civilizing mission in Asia will bribe our spirit and carry us there… a new Russia would be created, which would in time regenerate and resurrect the old one.”

When the Sakha Republic became an autonomous republic of the Soviet Union in 1922, the region was already indelibly intertwined with Russian social, cultural, and religious norms.

Sakha’s incorporation and assimilation into Russia is something Yakuts accept “as history—as a given. It’s something we can’t change now,” says Vasilyev. The photographer identifies as an Asian and a Yakut in Yakutia—a place which is an indelible part of Russia, he explains. “Growing up in the 1990s, I only learned Russian. My main language—in which I think, read, understand, speak and love—is Russian. But now, I believe it’s very important to know our national language, too.”

俄罗斯著名作家之一陀思妥耶夫斯基 (Fyodor Dostoevsky) 在 19 世纪末曾指出这个国家长期存在的身份危机：“俄罗斯不仅在欧洲，也在亚洲。俄罗斯人不仅是欧洲人，也是亚洲的一部分”，甚至有三分之二的土地都位于亚洲。

他写道：“在欧洲，我们曾经是奴隶。但在亚洲，我们将成为主人。我们在亚洲的文明使命将激励着我们前进……一个新的俄罗斯将诞生，假以时日，它将能让旧的俄罗斯重生和复兴。”

1922 年，当雅库特共和国成为苏联的自治共和国时，这个地区已经与俄罗斯的社会、文化和宗教规范不可分割地交织在一起。

雅库特人接受了自己的一部分被俄罗斯同化，正如 Alexey 所说“这是历史必然。是我们现在无法改变的事实。”他自视为亚洲人和雅库特人，而雅库特却又是俄罗斯不可或缺的一部分。“我成长于上世纪九十年代，打小只学过俄语。一直以来，我所运用的语言，我的思考方式、阅读、理解、交流工具，自始至终都是俄语。但现在我渐渐明白，了解属于雅库特人自己的语言，是生活中十分重要的事。”

From Alexey Vasilyev’s ongoing series Ysyakh Alexey Vasilyev《Ysakh》

Sakha spirit

Yakutia’s deep entanglement with Russia is undeniable. Yet, rituals and beliefs unique to Sakha culture have not only survived, but have experienced a newfound renaissance in recent years.

Vasilyev captures the Sakha spirit through his photo series Ysyakh—a tribute to Yakutia’s New Year, the region’s most-loved holiday. During the summer solstice in June, Yakuts come together to thank the Sakha deities for the upcoming year through food, dance, sport, and other festivities. Ysyakh, which originated around 2,000 years ago, is a blend of shamanic, indigenous, and Mongolian traditions. It’s a fundamental part of Yakutia’s cultural heritage and “important part of our national identity — a moment when we become an organic whole,” Vasilyev wrote in The Guardian.

During Ysyakh, the white shaman—whom Yakuts believe to have a close connection with the spiritual realm—leads festival processions, performing blessings, ceremonial dances, and singing prayers. The white shaman gives the traditional offerings of pancakes and kumi (fermented horse milk) to the gods. The central role of kumi may have been passed down from Mongolian traditions; in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries for instance, the fermented milk was also used in new year rituals to ensure the health of the herds and Genghis Khan.

Finally, at dawn, Yakuts turn toward the sky to catch the first summer rays with their outstretched palms; and pray for happiness and fortune.

That such traditions take place in Yakutia today is almost miraculous. Orthodox priests undertook efforts to Christianize the Sakha people during the Imperial era, with mixed results. In the Soviet era, Yakutia became a hotspot for gulags—Soviet concentration camps—due to the region’s natural resource abundance alongside its geographic isolation. Soviet authorities also sought to starve indigenous traditions, and the Ysyakh holiday was secularized and Sovietized. Communicating with Sakha spirits was forbidden; instead, people were encouraged to give thanks and offerings to portraits of Stalin, instead.

萨哈神灵

毋庸置疑，雅库特与俄罗斯之间有着千丝万缕的联系。然而，萨哈文化所独有的仪式和信仰不仅得以流传下来，并在最近几年经历了新一轮的复兴。

Alexey 在自己的摄影系列《Ysyakh》（恩萨赫节）中便展示了萨哈文化。恩萨赫节（Ysyakh）是雅库特人的传统新年，是当地人最喜欢的节日。在 6 月的夏至期间，雅库特人聚集在一起，通过食物、舞蹈、运动和其他庆祝活动，为即将到来的一年感谢萨哈神灵。恩萨赫节起源于大约 2000 年前，是萨满教、土著文化和蒙古传统交融的成果。Alexey 在《卫报》的文章中表示，这是雅库特文化传承的重要部分，也是“我们民族身份的重要组成部分，是我们凝聚在一起的时刻”。

节日期间，身穿白衣的萨满祭司带着大伙儿们游行、祈祷，舞蹈和歌唱。雅库特人认为，萨满祭司是和灵界有着密切联系的人。白衣萨满祭司将传统煎饼和“kumi”（酸马奶）等祭品供奉给神。以酸马奶作为重要祭品可能是受蒙古传统的影响，在 13 和 14 世纪，酸奶也被用于新年仪式，以祈祷保佑畜群和成吉思汗健康。

黎明时分，雅库特人一齐望向天空，伸出手掌，捕捉夏天的第一缕阳光，祈祷幸福和好运。

时至今日，仍然能在雅库特看到这样的传统仪式实属罕见。沙俄时代，东正教牧师致力将雅库特人基督教化，结果好坏参半。在苏联时代，因为雅库特当地的富饶的自然资源和地理上的孤立，古拉格（苏联劳动改造营）在这里安营扎寨。苏联当局还试图淡化土著传统，将恩萨赫节日世俗化、苏维埃化。禁止人们与萨哈神灵交流；同时鼓励人们对斯大林画像的感恩与崇拜。

From Alexey Vasilyev’s ongoing series Ysyakh Alexey Vasilyev《Ysakh》

By the late 1980’s, Yakutia’s intellectual and artistic communities instigated a revival of Sakha heritage, which paved the way for Ysyakh to find its way back to its true meaning. In 1992, the first administration of the New Republic of Sakha, a non-Soviet government, designated Ysyakh a formal state holiday.

In Vasilyev’s documentation of the festival, Yakutia is transformed into an ethereal place, far from its somber moments of history, or winter reality of dense fog and whistling snow. “[Our] brand is usually winter, but I wanted to show summer,” he says. Vasilyev also acknowledges that there are “dark sides of our life [in Yakutia], but I don’t want to show it.” The photographer references the alcohol addiction in the region and in Russia, at large: “It seems to me that in our country, alcohol doesn’t let people relax and have fun, but leads to overconsumption and aggression. [But] I can’t solve these problems with photography but only hurt someone’s feelings. Sure, I want to show truths that may be harsh, but at the same time leave room for inspiration and some kind of light sadness.”

His take on Ysyakh is akin to a soft, pastel dream sequence in which cream-colored horses roam green steppes under powder-blue skies; where families, dressed in their best, reunite under the summer sun to pray to the gods.

Yakut and Russian women are clad in floor-length, floral khaladaai dresses; while young girls wear bastinga headdresses and are decked out in ornamental silver jewelry laughing over ice cream and waiting for their turn to dance. Others wear white robes and matching headscarves while burning incense to purify the grounds of negative energy.

到 20 世纪 80 年代末，雅库特知识分子和艺术团体发起了复兴萨哈传统的运动，实现了恢复恩萨赫节的真正意义。1992 年，非苏维埃政府的萨哈新共和国第一届政府将恩萨赫节定为正式的国家节日。

在 Alexey 关于这个节日的纪实摄影作品中，雅库特变成一片空灵之地，毫无灰暗历史的痕迹，也没有冬日浓雾和呼啸。他解释说：“严寒的冬季是这里的特色，而我希望展示的却是夏季。”与此同时，他承认：“（雅库特的）生活也有自己的黑暗一面，但我不愿展示。”这位摄影师所指的是该地区和俄罗斯普遍存在的酗酒问题，“在我看来，在我们国家，酒精并不能让人们放松和消遣，反而会导致人们酗酒成风，变得有攻击性。摄影无法解决这些问题，只会伤害一些人的感情。当然，我也希望捕捉事实，但同时我更想带给人们鼓舞的情绪，凝结在其中的伤感让观众慢慢体会。”

他所拍摄的恩萨赫节是柔美且梦幻的景象——淡蓝色的晴空之下，奶白色的马匹徜徉在绿油的草原之上；人们盛装打扮，和家人沐浴阳光，他们欢聚，彼此祝福。

雅库特和俄罗斯妇女穿着拖地的碎花 khaladaai 长裙；年轻的女孩戴着 bastinga 头饰和华丽的银首饰，一边说笑，一边享用手中的冰淇淋，她们正在等待即将上台的跳舞表演。还有的人穿着白袍和白色的头巾，他们烧香礼拜，祈祷尘世间的负面能够得到净化。

From Alexey Vasilyev’s ongoing series Ysyakh Alexey Vasilyev《Ysakh》

Reverent Nature

When Vasilyev’s grandmother was dying of cancer, he cooked pancakes—a traditional Sakha and Russian food—for the first time in his life. The pancakes were an offering for Yakutia’s nature gods. “I went to the river and started asking for spirits. I didn’t even know which ones to ask for… but I asked them to somehow alleviate her suffering.”

For Sakha people, nature is animate and teeming with powerful spirits who play a potent force in human life. The nature spirits are worthy of awe, reverence, and even fear. “We live in harsh natural conditions and are used to relying on ourselves,” says Vasilyev. “But before any important, or even insignificant event, in our lives, we have to appease the fire, earth, and water spirits. Sometimes we appease them so that we get lucky.”

Yakutia’s local film industry, known as “Sakhawood,” deftly captures Sakha’s natural mysticism tied up with modern life. Sakhawood sprung up in the early 1990s as a way for Yakuts to reclaim their narrative. “Our culture was destroyed [after] 70 years of Soviet rule. Shamanism, our traditional faith, and other customs were banned. But now we’re bringing them back,” said Aleksei Romanov, a renowned Yakut director who founded Sakhafilm, Yakutia’s premier film studio, in 1992.

敬畏自然

那年 Alexey 祖母因癌症病危时，他生平第一次做了煎饼——这是一种传统的雅库特食物。人们认为，煎饼是献给雅库特大自然神灵的祭品。“我在河边祈求神灵，祈求他们能减轻祖母的痛楚。”

对雅库特人来说，大自然充满生机，住着各路能通广大的神灵，他们在人类栖息的世界里担任重要的职责。因此，大自然是值得尊敬、崇拜，甚至是敬畏的。Vasilyev 说：“雅库特人生活环境恶劣，早已习惯自食其力。但在我们生命中，无论如何，都必须要告慰火、土、水之灵。人们相信这样做能为自己带来好运。”

雅库特当地的电影产业被称为“Sakhawood”，这个词巧妙地结合了萨哈的自然神秘主义与现代生活。Sakhawood 兴起于 20 世纪 90 年代初，是了解雅库特故事的绝佳途径。雅库特著名导演 Aleksei Romanov 说：“苏联统治的 70 年后，我们的文化遭到了严重打击。传统和信仰被抛弃。现在，我们要把过去重新拾起。”1992 年，Aleksei 成立了雅库特第一家电影制片厂萨哈电影 (Sakhafilm)。

From Alexey Vasilyev's series Sakhawood Alexey Vasilyev《Sakhawood》

And Sakhawood films have begun to garner international acclaim, with its movies shown at film festivals from Seoul to Frankfurt. For the past few years, Vasilyev became a fly-on-the-wall at Sakhawood productions. His eponymous photo series documents this burgeoning local film industry as they recreate Yakutia’s modern-day human dramas intertwined with the fantastical and mystical revered in traditional Sakha culture.

In one of the most-recognized works from Vasilyev’s ‘Sakhawood,’ two young twin brothers Semyon and Stepan, stand in a dim forest clearing covered with leaves dressed in a furry, Ewok-like costume for their film debut. The twins were cast in the role of ‘dulgancha,’ the mythical swamp creature of Yakutia’s imagination in a scene from The Old Beyberikeen and the Five Cows, a hit 2019 film based on a classic Sakha fairytale.

Another of Vasilyev’s shots from the film shows the leading character — clad in a fur vest and armed with a homemade dagger — battling an abaasy, the Sakha spirit of the underworld, outside of an earthly, misty forest. Traditional Sakha lore says that three realms exist: the heavens, the middle world populated with humans, and a lower realm where evil spirits reside.

In the folktale about the old beyberikeen’(the old lady), her wish for a daughter is granted when a beautiful, young girl blossoms out of a fast-growing sprout she plucked from her garden. But the girl eventually falls prey to the devil’s daughter, who “tore off all the girl’s skin and put it on her face.” The prince, who was to wed the old lady’s daughter, eventually has to battle evil forces to revive his true bride and restore harmony to the land.

“If you look at Sakhawood, you can feel our reverence for nature. You can see the relationship between the power of nature, its mystical aspects, and its role in human life,” says Vasilyev.

这些年来，Sakhawood 电影逐渐开始获得国际上的关注，在首尔和法兰克福等电影节纷纷亮相。Alexey 是 Sakhawood 电影制作行业的一位冷静观察者，他创作了同名摄影系列，记录了当地蓬勃发展的电影产业，交织着奇异和神秘的传统萨哈文化片段。

《Sakhawood》系列有一张很特别的照片：年轻的双胞胎兄弟 Semyon 和 Stepan 伫立在满是落叶的森林空地上，穿着毛茸的伊沃克（Ewok，《星球大战》中长毛皮的智慧两足动物）式服装。他们正在饰演的是电影《老贝伊伯利克恩和五头牛》（The Old Beyberikeen and the Five Cows）中的雅库特神秘沼泽生物。这部上映于 2019 年的电影根据萨哈经典童话改编，在当地大热。

在关于这部电影的另一幅照片中，主角身披毛皮背心，手持自制匕首，在迷雾笼罩的森林外与来自地下世界的萨哈神灵“abaasy”决一死战。据传说，萨哈存在三个世界，分别是天堂、人类居住的中间世界和恶灵居住的地界。

在关于“beyberikeen”（意为老太太）的民间故事中，这位老太太想要一个女儿的愿望得到了实现——她在花园拔下快速生长的嫩芽，化作可爱的姑娘。不过，女孩最终沦为魔鬼的牺牲品，魔鬼“剥下女孩的皮肤，横挂在自己脸上”。原本要娶女孩为妻的王子，不得不与邪恶势力斗争，以复活他真正的新娘，并恢复世间的安宁。

“观看 Sakhawood 电影时，你可以感受到我们对大自然的那份敬畏、能感受大自然的力量、自然与人之间的关系、以及它神秘的一面。”

From Alexey Vasilyev's series Sakhawood Alexey Vasilyev《Sakhawood》

Myths and rituals are prominent in today’s Yakutia, but they exist alongside modern life and within Russian cultural institutions, as well. In Black Snow (also known as Khara Khaar), a film by renowned Yakutian director Stepan Burnashev, Vasilyev captures three actors playing truck drivers, smoking, and looking over their script in a dilapidated Russian log cabin. The film is a drama about the mundanity and petty human longings— for money, ego—that take place in Sakha, like everywhere else in the world. It won Best Feature at the Window to Europe Film Festival last year.

For his behind-the-scenes shots, Sakhawood won a top prize at the World Photo Press 2021 Photo Contest.

While Vasilyev doesn’t dwell on his successes, he acknowledges that with growing recognition comes a greater sense of responsibility.

“Life is [the same] as it was five years ago. A typical day could mean intensive shooting or a whole day spent watching documentaries. I’m still a simple person with all my weaknesses. I meet with my small circle of friends. We go to the movies, read the news and surf social networks. I have a girlfriend and I enjoy my time with her,” he says.

And last year—the first year of the pandemic—the renowned photographer even worked as a courier as businesses were disrupted worldwide. “I delivered goods, came home, and watched TV. The pandemic was shit! I practically didn’t shoot anything and had to earn money another way.”

Sometimes Vasilyev wonders if any catastrophic events were to happen in Yakutia, would “anyone find out about it — or even care? If Yakutian culture were to disappear altogether, would it somehow affect the world?” The fact that his images are lauded worldwide means that “the more people know about Yakutia, the louder our voice will be in the world,” Vasilyev says.

神话和宗教仪式在今天的雅库特中依然重要，它们与现代生活共存。由雅库特著名导演 Stepan Burnashev 执导的电影《黑雪》（Khara Khaar），讲述了当代雅库特人于世俗间的渺小渴望——金钱和自我，这个当代社会不变的话题。电影最终在去年的欧洲之窗电影节 (Window to Europe Film Festival) 上，获得了最佳剧情片大奖。同时，作为电影的幕后摄影师，《Sakhawood》获得了 2021 年世界新闻摄影比赛第一名。

在巨大的成功面前，Alexey 却十分清醒。他坦承，随着越来越多人认识他，而他肩负的责任也变得越来越大。“我现在的生活和五年前没什么不一样。每天还是在密集地拍摄或者花一整天的时间看纪录片。我仍然是一个简单的人，也有着各种的缺点。我有我的小圈子，也会和几位朋友见见面，一起去看电影、聊聊身边琐事。我有女朋友了，我很享受和她在一起的时光。”

在去年，也就是疫情爆发的第一年，这位著名的摄影师甚至还当过一阵子快递员。“疫情太糟糕了，我每天除了送货，然后就是回家看电视！因为当时全球经济几乎停摆，我没有拍过任何东西，只能通过另一种方式养活自己。”

疫情期间， Alexey 会想，假如某一天，雅库特突然遭遇灾难性事件，“会有人发现吗？甚至会有人关心吗？如果雅库特文化彻底消失，会对世界有任何的影响吗？”Alexey 表示，自己的作品能在世界各地受到肯定，这意味着“人们对雅库特是感兴趣的，只要一直把摄影坚持下去，我们在世界上的声音就会越大。”

From Alexey Vasilyev's series Sakhawood Alexey Vasilyev《Sakhawood》

My Dear Yakutia

Today, a reckoning is taking place in Yakutia. “There’s a feeling that we are Yakuts and we must preserve and respect our culture,” Vasilyev says. “This feeling is growing. It’s manifesting itself in national politics and in popular culture, like music and film. Our younger generations are starting to feel a stronger attachment to this identity and care more about this culture.”

Before he began photographing on his own, Vasilyev was a photographer for local paper Youth of the North, where he often took portraits of children in the city. For nearly a decade, he attended kids checkers’ tournaments, ballet performances, and wrestling matches; Yakutian and Russian kids coexisted alongside both Yakut and Russian culture and institutions.

But he began to notice what he describes as Russia’s ‘national chauvinism.’ “Living in Russia, we feel like strangers. I want to show that not only [Slavic] Russians live in Russia,” explaining that it seems as though the country is indifferent to the 120 different ethnic groups in Russia.

亲爱的雅库特

今天的雅库特正在进行一场觉醒。Alexey 说：“整个社会开始凝聚起来，我们是雅库特人，我们必须保护和尊重我们的文化。这种氛围越来越强烈。这体现在国家政治和流行文化中，比如音乐和电影。我们年轻一代开始对这种身份产生更强烈的依恋，更关心传统。”

在 Alexey 成为一名独立摄影师之前，曾是当地报纸《北方青年》(Youth of the North) 的一名儿童摄影师。在近十年的时间里，他参加了各种儿童跳棋比赛、芭蕾舞表演和摔跤比赛；亲眼目睹了这些孩子在雅库特和俄罗斯共存的文化体制中成长。

他开始留意到俄罗斯社会有一种“民族沙文主义”。“生活在俄罗斯，我们感觉像局外人。真正的斯拉夫人 (Slavic) 并不认为雅库特属于他们。”Alexey 觉得，俄罗斯似乎对生活在这里的 120 个不同民族漠不关心。

From Alexey Vasilyev's series Sakhawood Alexey Vasilyev《Sakhawood》

Thus, the photographer’s current, yet-to-be-released project is an even deeper look at the region. Vasilyev’s new focus is on Sakha’s various indigenous peoples of the north—“Evenks, Yukagirs, Chukchi and Dolgans. I want to make a project about their lives. We’ve lived with them for almost several centuries.” While Yakuts are the majority in Sakha yet a minority in Russia; the smaller indigenous groups which make up less than 1% of the population in the region, are mixed and contributed much. Northern Yakuts for instance, adopted the practice of reindeer breeding from Evenk groups.

And beyond the cultural reckoning, another one is taking place related to Sakha’s natural environment. Yakutia, like other parts of Siberia, are bearing the brunt of climate change. This summer—Yakutia’s hottest and driest on record—93 active wildfires have burned through 1.1 million hectares of land, making Sakha the worst wildfire-affected region of Russia. Vasilyev’s recent works show forest officers and volunteer firefighters battling raging blazes and thick smoke across the region’s charred forests. “We must protect our nature. Our permafrost is melting; people are suffering; and Siberia has been burning for many years. But nobody cares about this catastrophe,” he says.

Through his art, Vasilyev ultimately wants the world “to know about us… and to see that we’re all interconnected.”

于是，在他目前尚未发布的新项目中，他对这个地区进行了更深入的观察，这一次，他的关注点是萨哈北部的各种土著民族，“比如鄂温克人、Yukagirs、楚科奇人和 Dolgans，我们和他们一起生活了近几个世纪。所以我想拍摄一个关于他们的系列。”虽然雅库特人在当地占多数，但放在整个俄罗斯，却依然只是少数民族；而占该地区人口不到 1% 少数土著群体相互之间交融很深，且对社会也有着很大的贡献。例如，北方雅库特人就曾学习鄂温克部落繁育驯鹿的做法。

除了文化上的觉醒，萨哈的自然环境也在经历变化。雅库特和西伯利亚的其他地区一样，首当其冲地受到气候变化的影响。今年夏天，雅库特经历了有记录以来最热、最干燥的天气，93 场野火烧毁了 110 万公顷的土地，使雅库特成为俄罗斯受灾影响最严重的地区。Alexey 最近的作品展示了森林工作人员和志愿消防员在当地森林中与熊熊大火斗争的画面。他说：“我们必须保护大自然。永冻层正在融化，人类正在自食其果；现在，每年西伯利亚都有大火，但似乎没人在乎这场灾难。” Alexey 希望通过自己的作品，让人们了解这个世界上最寒冷的国度，以及万物之间的联系。

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Website: www.alexey-vasilyev.com
Instagram: @lekon_v

Contributor: Yvonne Lau
Chinese Translation: Olivia Li

喜欢我们的故事？欢迎关注我们 Neocha 的微博与微信。

网站: www.alexey-vasilyev.com
Instagram: @lekon_v

供稿人: Yvonne Lau
中译英: Olivia Li

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Eyes of the People 变革时代下的创作

October 26, 2021 2021年10月26日

Family Dinner After Democracy (2020) Embroidered painting / 270 x 307cm 《民主时代的家庭晚宴》(2020) / 270 x 307 厘米

To Eko Nugroho, one of the most acclaimed artists of Indonesia’s reformasi era, art is an inseparable product of an artist’s environment. Having lived through a major financial crisis, mass protests, the fall of a regime, and the democratization of Indonesia, his artistic output has been largely shaped by these experiences. “If the artist lives amidst a very political situation, there are high chances he or she will create works that are very political,” he says. Nugroho’s creativity has flourished as his country transformed.

Spanning paintings, murals, sculptures, installations, embroidery art, and animation, his multidisciplinary work weaves together a plethora of references and traditional Indonesian crafts. His colorful compositions directly reflect his environment, but these reimagined realities are dreamlike, illogical, and even bizarre.

Eko Nugroho 是印尼“改革”（Reformasi）时代最负盛名的艺术家之一。他认为，每位艺术家的作品与他们所处的环境密不可分。他曾亲身经历过金融海啸、大型民众抗议、政权垮台和印尼民主化进程，这些经历都对他的艺术作品有着深远的影响，正如他说所：“如果艺术家生活在一个充满政治色彩的环境中，他们的作品很有可能与此息息相关。”在社会的水深火热之中，Eko 艺术创想却悄然苏醒。

他的作品跨越多重领域，从绘画、壁画、雕塑、艺术装置、刺绣艺术到动画作品，贯穿大量元素，包括了像传统印尼手工艺等等。丰富庞杂的构图折射出他所处的环境，这些重构后的现实如梦似幻，不合逻辑，甚至实属离奇。

Carnival Trap #2 (2018) Upcycled plastics, acrylic resin, and wire / Image Courtesy of Heri Pemad Art Management 《陷阱狂欢 #2》(2018) / 图片由 Heri Pemad ArtManagement 提供

Bouquet of Love (2017) Plastic waste painted with duco, iron / 1000 x 700cm 《爱的花束》(2017) / 1000 x 700 厘米

A great example is a large piece made of embroidery and painting titled Family Dinner After Democracy. It features references to both Suharto’s regime, in the form of a soldier watching through binoculars, and to the new democratic system in Indonesia, with a man playing on an arcade machine. Even if the latter cannot see because his eyesight is blocked, the message “dead-end democracy” shows up on his screen. The remainder of the piece is dominated by an utterly chaotic scene overtaken by outlandish anthropomorphic beings.

Another example is Carnival Trap #2. It includes a large protest banner made with the word “Demokrasi.” The banner is made of bamboo scaffolds and supported by military boots on both sides. Behind it, there’s a post with a lightbox saying “colossal trap.” And in front of everything, there’s a four-legged humanoid covered in natural patterns. The juxtaposition of the military with democracy is recurrent in Nugroho’s work, and so is a sense of disillusionment with both.

他的大型刺绣和绘画作品《Family Dinner After Democracy》（民主时代的家庭晚宴）便映证了上述所说。画中举着望远镜的士兵代表苏哈托政权，手持街机游戏机的男子则象征了印尼新民主制度。玩游戏机的男子被面罩蒙住双眼，街机屏幕上赫然显现一行文字——“绝望的民主”（dead-end democracy）。剩下的画面一片混乱，充斥着各种古怪的类人型生物。

另一处映证在作品《Carnival Trap #2》（陷阱狂欢#2）中体现，其中包括了“Demokrasi”字样的抗议横幅。其用竹竿撑起，分别插入一只军靴中。横幅后面是一个带有灯箱的柱子，上面写着“巨大的陷阱”（colossal trap）。民主与军队元素经常在 Eko 的作品中并列出现，带来一种魔幻与绝望的压迫感，以及引人深思的谎言意味。

Global Radiation #2 (2021) Acrylic on canvas / 200 x 150cm / Photo by Regina Dewi 《全球辐射 #2》(2021) / 200 x 150 厘米 / 摄影师: Regina Dewi

Global Radiation #1 (2021) Acrylic on canvas / 200 x 150cm / Photo by Regina Dewi 《全球辐射 #1》(2021) / 200 x 150 厘米 / 摄影师: Regina Dewi

Global Radiation #4 (2021) Acrylic on canvas / 200 x 150cm / Photo by Regina Dewi 《全球辐射 #4》(2021) / 200 x 150 厘米 / 摄影师: Regina Dewi

Global Radiation #3 (2021) Acrylic on canvas / 200 x 150cm / Photo by Regina Dewi 《全球辐射 #3》(2021) / 200 x 150 厘米 / 摄影师: Regina Dewi

As for the surreal characters with whom he populates his universe, they seem to wander about in dazed confusion. Sometimes they look like mutants; sometimes, they take a more human form. But one thing most of them have in common: they’re almost entirely covered in patchworks of different textures and patterns. Nugroho tends to leave their eyes exposed, allowing them to look back at viewers with piercing gazes. “The eyes in my work represent an intelligent generation, one with vast knowledge, who can see many things,” he explains. “But one that also forgets to listen, to speak kindly, to speak efficiently.”

作品中的角色往往带有超现实主义色彩，他们漫无目的地在画布上徘徊。一些还能依稀看出人的基本轮廓、另一些角色的外表则变得不可名状。Eko 在创作中会刻意露出角色的眼睛，锐利目光，透露着轻蔑和冷漠。他解释说：“在我的作品中，眼睛代表了’聪明人‘，他们知识渊博，见多识广，却总是自大妄为，常常忽略他人的心声，忘记要友善、高效地沟通、忘记聆听他人的感受。”

Nowhere is My Destination Fiberglass, embroidered painting, plastic flowe,plastic chain, and buffalo skin / 88 x 78 x 182cm 《我漫无目的》88 x 78 x 182 厘米

Future Fungus #1 (2018-2020) Wired upcycled plastic, fiberglass, acrylic / 98 x 96 x 216cm 《未来菌菇 #1》(2018-2020) / 98 x 96 x 216 厘米

Born in 1977 in Yogyakarta, Nugroho grew up under the military rule of President Suharto. It was a period of modernization and growth in which Indonesia saw rapid industrialization and unprecedented wealth. These were also dictatorial times, with little to no room for socio-political commentary, especially in the art world.

But, when he entered the Indonesian Institute of the Arts to study for a bachelor’s degree in painting, Indonesia was in turmoil. It was 1997, and Suharto’s promise of prosperity had hit a wall with the Asian financial crisis. Poverty, unemployment, and inflation severely battered the country, and a wave of protests erupted, particularly amidst student groups. It all led to the fall of the regime the following year.

With the political liberalization that ensued in the Reformasi era, artists began addressing topical issues that they weren’t free to broach before. Many artists at the time also began being influenced by lowbrow pop culture, adopted new media formats, and often added a defiant, humorous tone to their works.

Eko 于 1977 年出生于日惹，在苏哈托的军事统治下长大。当时正值印尼现代化和快速增长的时期，国家的工业和财富正在快速积累。但同时，这又是独裁的时代，社会政治评论的空间几乎被彻底扼杀，尤其是在艺术界。

当 Eko 进入印尼艺术学院攻读绘画学位时，印尼社会陷入动荡。那是 1997 年，苏哈托的经济繁荣计划因亚洲金融危机而落空。贫困、失业和通货膨胀严重打击着整个国家，抗议浪潮由此展开，最终导致该政权于次年垮台。

随着改革时代的到来，艺术家终于得以对禁忌话题敞开心扉，他们中一些人受到来自上世纪七十年代低俗艺术（Lowbrow Art，受地下朋克摇滚影响，代表着二十世纪七十年代后期在美国洛杉矶出现的地下视觉艺术运动，代表着民粹主义的艺术运动。大多数低俗艺术为绘画、玩具和雕塑，以幽默的方式表达着政治态度。）的影响，表达出一种挑衅、幽默的态度。

Tolerance Seeker (The Dance Corp Series) (2016) Fiberglass painted with acrylic, manual embroidery, teak radio, praying mat, shawl, praying cap / 162 x 62 x 31cm 《探索宽容的人》(2016) / 162 x 62 x 31 厘米

The World in Phobia (The Dance Corp Series) (2016) Fiberglass painted with acrylic, manual embroidery, batik bolster, batik table mat,short pants, belt / 173 x 62 x 31cm 《当世界陷入恐慌》(2016) / 173 x 62 x 31 厘米

Protester With New Issue (2016) Fiberglass painted with acrylic, cardboard, saroong, zinc, vinyl, sandals / 137 x 72 x 63cm 《新话题抗议者》(2016) / 137 x 72 x 63 厘米

Nausea (2016) Fiberglass painted with acrylic, plastic beads, teak radio, shawl, buffalo skin, cardboard, wood 《极端的憎恶》(2016)

Nugroho mentions many influences for himself, from the music of legendary local pop band Koes Plus to the art of Andy Warhol and Keith Haring. “This era of pop art provided a sense of energy to my works,” he says. “That’s why I began painting in bright colors, something I still do today.” He realized the significance of color early on, seeing it as a device capable of setting the mood and evoking emotions in his audience. “Colors are the agents for feelings and atmosphere. More literally: red can stand for anger, blue for solitude, serenity, or coldness, and yellow can represent joy.”

The ways he wields patterns are similarly intended to conjure certain emotions or imagery. Often, they’re also nods to Mother Nature or traditional Indonesian crafts—whether it be textures inspired by local flora and fauna or motifs found in batik. “I’m interested in how dense, ordered visuals can fill the surfaces of my work,” he says. “If they don’t appear in the main objects, they’re likely to appear in the background.”

Eko 表示自己的创作受过许多影响，包括本地传奇乐队 Koes Plus、安迪·沃霍尔 (Andy Warhol) 和凯斯·哈林 (Keith Haring) 的作品。他说：“波普年代的作品常常令我振奋，这也是我喜欢鲜艳色彩的原因。”早在他创作之初，便意识到了色彩的重要性，将其视为营造氛围、激发情感的工具。“色彩是营造感受和氛围的道具，具体而言，红色是愤怒，蓝色是孤独，而黄色则代表快乐等等。”

同样，他对图案的运用也是为了唤起观众特定的情感或意象，其中绝大多数时候是为了致敬大自然和传统印尼手工艺，包括以本地动植物为灵感设计的纹理以及蜡染图案。他说：“我喜欢用密集、乱中有序的视觉元素来填满画面。这些元素要么覆盖于画面主角之上，要么作为背景出现。”

Build Hopes with Tenderness, as with Hardness (2019) Embroidered painting / 315 x 284cm 《温柔和拳头都可以建立希望》(2019) / 315 x 284 厘米

Other forms of Indonesian art can also be seen in Nugroho’s work. Local costumes and masks inspire the attires worn by his characters, and the wayang, a Javanese shadow puppetry practice, has also appeared in his oeuvre. Nugroho likes to think of these traditions as a permeating tool that brings together the country’s culturally diverse population. He also appreciates that many of these traditions are still around and part of daily life, despite being ancient.

A non-Indonesian art form that became a vital part of Nugroho’s practice is street art, which he began dabbling in during his university years. “What interested me the most [about street art] was the interaction with people passing in front of the wall I was painting,” he says. “These interactions may happen as questions, flattery, anger, and even support since they would give me things like food and drinks. I became interested in how art can connect many distinct elements when it is open to the public.”

Ever since he began making public art, Nugroho was captivated by the effects of community engagement. He expanded the mediums he’d work in and often sought to have an open dialogue with his audience and collaborators. Even when presented in gallery spaces, his work still carries traces of street-art influence. Oftentimes, his gallery showings will involve murals painted directly on the walls. Although, ironically, his gallery murals have a shorter lifespan than his street murals, being that they’re erased as soon as the show ends. This ephemerality amuses him. “I like to work amidst this tension. Between life and death, presence and absence, existence and non-existence,” he says.

Eko 的作品中还会运用到其他形式的印尼艺术。画中角色的服饰灵感来源于当地传统服装和面具设计，印尼传统皮影戏“哇扬戏”（Wayang）也是他的创作灵感之一。Eko 喜欢以这些传统文化作为道具，渴望通过作品表达凝聚多元社会的心愿。令他感到欣慰的是，这些传统虽然历史悠久，但仍然流传至今，并成为人们日常生活中的一部分。

街头艺术，也是 Eko 作品中常见的艺术形式。他早在大学期间便开始接触街头艺术。他认为：“街头艺术最吸引我的是在创作时与路人的互动。这些互动可能是一句提问，可能是赞许或挑斗，甚至是生活中常见的要素，比如一些食物和饮料等。这激发了我的好奇心，尝试在创作中连接众多不同的元素，并与过路人产生互动。”

由于街头艺术与社区联系紧密，渐渐地，Eko 将创作投入到了社区当中。他进一步丰富了自己的创作媒介，并经常去寻求与观众的开放式对话。即使是放在画廊展览的作品，他的作品仍然带有街头艺术影响的痕迹。很多时候，他会直接在展区墙上创作壁画，以此来作为展览作品。不过，展览上的壁画往往比街头壁画寿命更短，展览一旦结束，它们就会被抹去。但 Eko 很喜欢这种短暂的形式。他解释道：“我喜欢这种紧迫感，把生与死、在场与缺席、存在与不存在之间的关系一笔带过。”

Under the Shining Wire (2019) Embroidered painting / 280 x 153cm 《钢丝栏网的背后》(2019) / 280 x 153 厘米

Another Coalition #2 (2019) Embroidered painting / 271 x 156cm 《另一种连结 #2》(2019) / 271 x 156 厘米

To Nugroho, selecting the medium that he’ll create with is the last step in his decision-making process. What starts with a concept in his mind is first realized as a sketch, and only after does the medium he’ll work in come to him. It’s a process that’s rooted in instinct. “The only requirement is that the medium is something close to me, near my environment,” he adds. “I like media that’s easy to find and manipulate.”

For a recent series of embroidery paintings, Nugroho invited a community of embroiderers to complete the artworks by adding a layer of woven yarn on top of his painted canvases. In the hands of the embroiderers, his works transformed entirely, being imbued with unique textures and a unique tactility.

对于 Eko 来说，选择创作媒介是他整个创作过程中的最后一步。创作概念会先被他在脑海中处理成概念草图，然后跟着感觉决定创作媒介，这也是一个追随本能的过程。“唯一的要求是必须是我熟悉的媒介，与我的环境相关的媒介。我喜欢信手拈来的创作媒介，这会让我的创作一气呵成，”他补充道。

在最近的一系列刺绣画中，Eko 邀请了多位刺绣艺术家参与，在他画好的画布上编织一层纱线。在刺绣师的手下，他的作品焕然一新，呈现出独特的纹理和质感。

Plastic Democracy #1 (2017) Mural on wall / Image Courtesy of A3 / Photo by Bernd Borchardt 《塑料民主 #1》(2019) / 图片由 A3 提供 / 摄影师: Bernd Borchardt

He also works with waste collectors near his studio to create sculptures with found objects, mainly plastic. “I’m returning waste to the artistic spaces—where it’s also produced—as art pieces,” he says. “Besides the beauty of the artwork itself, there’s also the process and the meaning behind the medium.” Nugroho’s sculptures bring to life his manifestations of chaos. They’re often human-like but wear the strangest attires made of many elements, all charged with symbolism, and carry protest signs with slogans such as “tolerance” and “stop legalize stupidity,” for instance. Because they’re made in human size, it feels as if they’ve crossed over into our dimension—or perhaps they never left it.

Nugroho hopes his upcycling works can serve as a message about sustainability to the community at large. Much of his art revolves around affecting his community in positive ways. For example, the embroiderers he worked with are artisans who’ve fallen on hard times in recent years. But with Nugroho’s assistance, they’re finding additional means of income, and not only that, their handmade crafts are finding new life in a contemporary format. Nugroho also opened DGTMB, a shop to sell prints and designs by local creatives in Yogyakarta, and founded the Eko Nugroho Art Class, a personal development project that teaches students to solve problems, overcome limitations, and find solutions in the most varied areas of life thinking creativity through art.

“Communication is my main strength and interest. I like to produce art as a team,” Nugroho says. He particularly enjoys working with people who do not have a background in art. Still, these collaborators are often experts in their fields, which creates a leveled relationship based on mutual learning.

除此之外，他还和工作室附近的废品回收员合作，拿拾来的废品（主要是塑料品）来制作雕塑。他说：“我想把艺术中产生的废料，再度回收到艺术本身，为作品额外增添一层意义。”

Eko 的雕塑生动地具象了他对混乱的理解。这些人形雕塑披上各式各样的元素、高举着“宽容”和“停止将愚蠢合法化”的言论告示，其背后的象征总比表面上看起来更多。雕塑都按照真人大小创作，现场观看，它们像是造访现实的异度来客——又或许它们一直都存在于这个世界，未曾离开过。

Eko 希望通过这些升级回收的作品，向人们传达可持续发展的信息。他的大部分作品都旨在以积极的方式影响他所在的社区。例如，此前他合作过的刺绣工匠们，都是近年来陷入职业困境的人群。在 Eko 的帮助下，这些刺绣工匠不仅获得了额外的收入，也让自己的手艺以现代的形式，重新焕发新生。除此之外，Eko 还开设了 DGTMB，这是一家专门售卖日惹本地创意人士的印刷作品和设计的商店、以及 Eko Nugroho 艺术班，一个个人发展项目，旨在指导学生解决问题、克服障碍，通过艺术的创意思考，从生活的不同领域寻找解决问题的方案。

We Are Among Us (2019) Acrylic on canvas / 200 x 200cm 《你我之间》(2019) / 200 x 200 厘米

Value Value Value (2017) Acrylic on canvas / 200 x 151cm 《价值、价值、价值》(2017) / 200 x 151 厘米

Throw Away Peace in the Garden (2018) Embroidered painting / 267 x 158cm 《田园间丢弃的和平》(2018) / 267 x 158 厘米

Unity in Hiding #1 (2018) Acrylic on canvas / 200 x 200cm 《一起躲着 #1》(2018) / 200 x 200 厘米

Yogyakarta, or Jogja, as locals affectionately call it, is arguably the cultural center of Indonesia. The city is still the capital of a special region with a ruling sultanate, and it’s the cradle for many of the traditions Nugroho plants in his art. He considers himself lucky to live there and soak in the uniquely creative environment the city offers. “Jogja is an unlimited art laboratory,” he says. “Besides hosting various art platforms, communities, and alternative spaces, Jogja is also a place for discussions and debate. This is what keeps me here.” He also points out that people in Yogyakarta are more receptive to the disruptive nature of art than any other place in the country.

In such an environment, Nugroho can observe the interplay of tradition and modernity as the whole country morphs in front of his eyes. His observations are directly fed into his art. “It’s evident that the artist is inspired, touched, or regulated by the surrounding situations,” he says. “I believe that art serves as an archive of history. Artworks can contain records about a country’s trajectory.”

With each new artwork, Nugroho is filing an entry into his history book. Current issues are ardently recorded, such as the challenges Indonesia has been facing since it became a democracy and, of course, the global pandemic. One of his most recent exhibitions, Destroyed in Peace, recently shown at the Jogja National Museum, featured paintings of characters in face masks and hazmat suits and a sculpture formed by several skulls to symbolize the death toll of Covid-19. The absurdity in his world is not too different from the absurdity in our world. In both, we find war, conflict, division, and death. But, in his world, as in ours, there’s hope. It lies in the watchful eyes of the people.

日惹又被当地人亲切地称为“Jogja”，这里可以说是印尼的文化中心。这座城市仍然是日惹苏丹国这个特区的首府，也是 Eko 在艺术创作中借鉴的众多传统的发源地。他觉得自己很幸运，能在这座城市生活，沉浸于这座城市独特的创意环境之中。他说：“日惹是一个无限的艺术实验室。这里除了有各种艺术平台、社区和非主流空间，也充满了对话和讨论。这也是我一直留在这里的原因。”他还指出，和印尼其他地方的人相比，日惹人对于颠覆性的艺术更包容。

在这样的环境下，Eko 得以亲眼见证这个国家的变迁，观察着传统与现代的交错，而这些观察也被他直接加入自己的艺术创作中。他说：“毋庸置疑，艺术家都会受到周围环境的启发、触动或影响。我觉得艺术就是记录历史的档案。艺术作品可以记录一个国家的历史轨迹。”

每一件新的作品都是 Eko 的个人艺术史册中的新篇章，是当前社会在他眼中的方方面面的体现，例如印尼自成为民主国家以来所面临的挑战，以及当前影响全球的新冠疫情。他最近的一个展览《Destroyed in Peace》（和平摧毁）最近在日惹国家博物馆展出，其中包括戴着面具和防护服的人物肖像画，以及象征死亡人数的骷髅雕塑。现实世界的荒谬，其实并不亚于他的作品。这两个世界同样充满战争、冲突、分裂和死亡。但同样，无论是在他的画中，或是现实世界里，希望依然存在，它就存在于人们警惕的注视中。

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Website: ekonugroho.or.id
Instagram: @ekonugroho_studio

Contributors: Tomas Pinheiro, Lucas Tinoco
Chinese Translation: Olivia Li

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网站: ekonugroho.or.id
Instagram: @ekonugroho_studio

供稿人: Tomas Pinheiro, Lucas Tinoco
英译中: Olivia Li

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Miroir Project 在“镜子”中找寻属于女孩的勇气与可能

October 21, 2021 2021年10月21日

From At Home with Family by photographer Liu Sidan, which took first prize at the inaugural Miroir Project photography competition. 刘思典《与家人在家》，获得「照镜子第一届女性摄影师大赛」一等奖

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a feminist movement was underway in the Western world. Dubbed as “first-wave feminism,” this initial fight centered on suffrage and other political rights. Since then, society has made further strides towards gender equality, yet many issues remain. Throughout the fight, art and literature have served as indispensable tools in amplifying the voice of women. Take, for example, British author Virginia Woolf’s essay, A Room of One’s Room, which spoke out against social injustices that female writers have long faced.

Inspired by Woolf, Miroir Project is a platform with similar aspirations of empowering female creativity, though instead of female authors, their focus is on female photographers. The team behind the project believes that photography is a particularly fitting medium for the expression of feminity and that their platform offers a way for like-minded women photographers to meet, share ideas, and explore matters of identity together. These beliefs are the main impetus behind the project.

Lao Yan, the nickname of one of Miroir Project’s cofounders, says, “As I got older, I realized the importance of facilitating a space where like-minded individuals can meet others like them. Finding common ground with someone is like looking into a mirror, and if you look closely enough, you can gain a clearer picture of who you yourself are.”

Miroir Project’s other co-founder, who goes by the nickname of Liang Liang, met Lao Yan in 2016 when they were both working as photographers at a rock concert. They quickly became friends over their shared love of photography. After countless discussions, they realized that China lacked a platform dedicated to female photographers, and they decided to take the matter into their own hands with Miroir Project, which officially debuted in 2020.

早在十九世纪末至二十世纪初，女性运动便在全球各地发生，引发文化、社会、政治、教育等方方面面的变革，这场横跨大陆的运动掀起人类历史上女性主义的 “第一波”。直至二十一世纪的当代，女性的声音藉由互联网、新闻媒体推波助澜，涉及的话题和区域变得更为宽泛。不可否认，这波浪潮已是近现代社会发展中最不容小觑的声音。而艺术和文艺界更是声场中的主力军，早在十八世纪，便涌现出一批著作把女性在社会中的地位这一问题推向了历史的前台。二十世纪上半叶，英国作家弗吉尼亚·伍尔夫（Virginia Woolf）的经典著作《自己的房间》（A Room of One’s Own）中，你便能强烈地体会到，那种身为一个女性渴望打破社会的刻板印象、唤醒自我意识以及挖掘自身潜力的声音。

受到弗吉尼亚·伍尔夫的启发，最近一场名为《无尽的房间》（A Myriad of Rooms）的巡回展览在中国三座城市陆续展开，展览的发起者是 “照镜子MiroirProject”，一个专注于国内女性摄影推广的独立平台。相比于历史上西方社会发生的女性运动，平台没有剑拔弩张的态势，而是由一群女性摄影爱好者和艺术家“掌镜”，通过摄影这种表达自我的艺术方式，让更多女孩彼此认识，并找到认同感；同时，也为她们提供了一种展示、了解自己的机会，这恰恰是平台成立的初衷。“照镜子”主创之一老严说道：“成长的过程中，我们会更喜欢身处在一个得到更多认同感的环境中，认同感就像是一面面镜子，让我们可以找到真正的自己。”

老严与平台另一位主创靓靓的相遇是在四年前的一次摇滚现场，那晚她们拍摄了同一支乐队，因为都酷爱摄影，后来彼此成为朋友。在彼此共同交流与学习的过程中，她们发现国内并没有专门扶持女性摄影的项目。成立一个这样的平台的想法，后来在 2020 年兑现。

Social and feminist issues are topics near and dear to Lao Yan and Liang Liang’s hearts. They’ve observed that Chinese girls are prone to struggling with low self-esteem and insecurity—which they believe is intrinsically linked with the patriarchal thought that has long permeated traditional Chinese society. “Whether in school or at home, girls are taught differently from boys,” she says. “Boys are taught to be confident, be competitive, and shoulder responsibility. Girls, on the other hand, are taught that their careers should come secondary to marriage, and it’s a belief that’s now ingrained into people. This fact has made girls overly conscious about their outward appearances. If a person is only focused on what they look like, it’s not surprising if they’re insecure.”

Lao Yan believes that Chinese women are shackled by too many stereotypes. They’re under constant scrutiny and assigned with a variety of expectations. Being subject to this constant barrage of outside opinions has a tremendous impact on how they feel about themselves. When they can’t meet the expectations of their family, teachers, or society, feelings of insecurity or inferiority are inevitable.

The duo believes that this unrelenting anxiety inflicted by society is silencing female voices in China, and in the face of these issues, it’s even more important for women to be heard. “Having a voice is crucial,” Lao Yan says. “It can help a person establish a safe space where they’re free to express themselves. When your voice can be heard, a person becomes more confident in expressing themselves. This is especially empowering for the marginalized.”

Miroir Project feature works from female photographers of all calibers—it doesn’t matter whether they’re a rookie shooter or a veteran photographer. Everyone is given a chance to be seen. For many, especially the lesser-known photographers, the feedback is incredibly encouraging. “Recognition is important,” Lao Yan says. “It’s infectious, and recognition can be handed down. It’s just a cycle of positive energy.”

一直以来，老严和靓靓是社会和身边女性的观察者，她们认为“自卑”和“不安全感”是当代女生中普遍存在的现状。归咎其原因，靓靓认为是中国传统 “重男轻女” 的思想、以及社会新闻中男性占据主导等等种种现状所至。她解释道：“在学校和家庭的教育中，女生不像男生那样，从小被灌输自信、有担当、有竞争意识。反倒是 ‘工作找得好不如嫁得好’ 这样的言论占据上风。就导致了当代女性 ‘容貌焦虑’ 的加重，传统的价值观在引导女性认为容貌与能力或许具有更为紧密的联系。如果把注意力都放在外在，不安全感会被放大。” 老严则认为，当代女性依然被某种刻板印象所 “凝视”，被赋予特别的期望和审视，这种别人的看法潜移默化地影响了女生对自我的认知，当无法满足家庭、学校、群体、社会的期望后，很容易变得自卑和不安。

在本不应该被加持的“自卑”和“不安全感”之下，属于女性自己的声音则显得尤为重要。老严接着说：“声音可以营造一个人表达自我的空间，当你的声音被别人听到，你会投入更多，会更加积极并勇敢地继续发声，而不是被埋没在一个无人知晓的境地。”

在“照镜子”平台，无论妳是摄影初学者、还是从事多年的圈内达人，每个人都有机会以照片 “发声”，大家因此获得更多鼓励，让参与者相信自己正在做的事情具有非凡的意义。老严接着说道：“被认可，是一件非常重要的事情。而且会影响更多人，我们想将认可这种行为一直传递下去，营造一种正向的循环。”

From photographer Soojo Lee's submission to the inaugural Miroir Project photography competition, which tied for second place. Soojo Lee《野渡須弥山》，获得「照镜子第一届女性摄影师大赛」二等奖

Lao Yan lives in Fuzhou while Jing Jing lives in Shanghai, so most of their collaboration takes place online. Lao Yan focuses on marketing and discovering talents, while Jing Jing handles sponsorships and everything that’s design-related.

Since August of 2020, they’ve regularly posted photography showcases on their Weibo, WeChat, and Instagram accounts. Posts fall under four categories. Miroir Girls is the mainstay, which are posts that highlight different female photographers from around China. Miroir Reco, their earliest category, shares the works of overseas female photographers with Chinese audiences. Their upcoming category, Miroir Reflections, will offer Chinese translations of write-ups penned by female photographers from around the world.

Since the platform’s debut, the duo’s mailbox has been flooded with thousands of submissions. It’s hardly surprising—for many fledgling photographers, having their works shown in front of new audiences and seeing an outpouring of support can feel particularly rewarding. “It’s like a bonfire, one that’s been lit by everyone who’s come together to keep the flames of femininity stoked,” Lao Yan says. “We’ve seen so many female photographers, who went from being relatively unknown, to being discovered, and being confident as a result, of being more willing to express themselves. It’s uplifting to us to see how everyone embraces this common value and to give girls a sense of belonging. It’s given us a stronger sense of mission and will to keep our platform going.”

As their community grew, the duo decided to run a photography competition for Chinese female photographers. The inaugural competition kicked off in early 2021 and was open to all, no matter their background or experience. As long as they were a photography enthusiast with a similar mindset, they could participate. Over 300 applicants sent in their work and 30 photographers were shortlisted. The judges include Wang Shuai, the vice dean of Tianjin School of Art; Liu Jiaxing, one of the co-founders of Arbre Gallery, Ding Ding, one of the founders of Xiangyue. Aside from first, second, and third place prizes, separate awards were given out based on viewer favorites and honorary mentions. “Works were based on authenticity, on whether or not the works were narratively cohesive, and the potential of it,” Lao Yan explains.

老严和靓靓分别在不同的城市，老严是福州人、靓靓居住在上海。两人通常在线上沟通工作。老严是平台的“外交官”，负责对接内容和社交；靓靓把关美学和包装，担任平台的平面视觉，还兼顾着“拉赞助”的差事。平台创立之前，老严是海归的职场人士、靓靓还在攻读大学，拍照只是业余爱好；不过随着 2020 年 8 月创两人决定成立平台开始，“照镜子” 陆续在微博、微信公众号和 Instagram 上开设平台账号，摄影对她们来说，成了“当务之急”。

点进“照镜子”微博，三个固定栏目块映入眼帘。“女孩掌镜 MiroirGirls” 是平台的主打栏目，于线上征集女性摄影师的作品，尔后经过筛选发布在微博上；“镜荐 MiroirReco” 是平台最早开设的栏目，对国内外女性摄影师作品进行分享和推荐；“镜面 Miroir Comm” 则更具深度与思考，不定期为读者翻译国外女性摄影师文章。

很快，“照镜子” 在线上吸引了数千名摄影师、爱好者的拥聚，前来投稿的女性摄影师络绎不绝，她们的作品被转发、点赞，一些作品甚至在平台获得了从未有过的曝光率。老严说：“大家集结成了一团燃烧的火焰，让更多人感受到女性摄影群体的光芒。我们看到不少女性摄影师，从默默无闻，到被更多人发现，她们开始变得自信、勇敢、更善于表达自我，这些都是非常振奋人心的事。很清晰地感受到大家拥抱一种共同的价值观和归属感，很美妙。也让我们的使命感越来越强，想要把平台一直做下去。”

随着这面“镜子”的扩大，老严和靓靓决定举办一场比赛，「照镜子第一届女性摄影师大赛」被敲定在 2021 年初进行。无论妳是否具备专业学术背景，只要对摄影与艺术创作感兴趣，相信女性摄影的价值和力量，都可以来参加比赛。大赛的公告一经推出便吸引了近三百人前来投稿。最终，其中三十位摄影师脱颖而出，再由资深摄影评委（天津美术学院摄影系副主任王帅、一树Arbre艺术空间负责人刘佳欣、象曰联合创始人丁丁）和两位主创共同推选出大赛一、二、三等奖、根据转发和点赞数推选出最佳人气奖、以及三位照镜子特别选择奖。关于评选的标准，老严透露：“作品的真诚、逻辑性、潜能是我们最看重的三点。”

From photographer Chen Ziqiu's submission to the inaugural Miroir Project photography competition, which tied for second place. 陈子秋《生活之锚》，获得「照镜子第一届女性摄影师大赛」二等奖

From photographer Chen Ziqiu's submission to the inaugural Miroir Project photography competition, which tied for second place. 王子嘻《比瞬间持续更长的时间》，获得「照镜子第一届女性摄影师大赛」三等奖

From photographer Wang Zixi's submission to the inaugural Miroir Project photography competition, which won third place. 王子嘻《比瞬间持续更长的时间》，获得「照镜子第一届女性摄影师大赛」三等奖

The shortlisted photographers showcased works that touched on a wide range of themes and topics. The first-place winner, photographer Liu Sidan, submitted a touching series dedicated to her parents, but her mom and dad appear in a surprising way: they’re only seen in large print-outs that Liu has made from old family photos. For Liu, who’s spent the majority of her adult life overseas, this was her way of revisiting her memories of family and her hometown.

Second place was a tie between photographer Soojo Lee and Chen Ziqiu. Lee’s project featured a series of moody scenes consumed by darkness, ranging from a snapped branch sitting in a puddle of mud to the silhouette of a bell peeking out from a tower’s arched windows.

Chen’s submission is similarly bleak, though not outwardly so. Her work reflected on the emptiness of life, and through her brightly lit snapshots, she sought to counteract the sense of despondence that haunted her.

Aside from the winners, plenty of other noteworthy photographers are featured on the shortlist.

刘思典的《与家人在家》系列作品在大赛中拔得头筹，照片中讲述了她自己与家人的温暖故事；不同的是，照片中的爸妈，以巨型打印照片的形式出现，被摆放在与现实相似的场景当中，达到了以假乱真的地步。刘思典一直在外地生活，她希望以这种方式与家庭记忆进行联动，并给予自己对故乡的思念。摄影师 Soojo Lee 和陈子秋并列获得此次大赛的二等奖。在 Soojo Lee 的系列作品《野渡须弥山》中，她以佛教的神山须弥山为灵感，融合自己对佛教的理解，创作出数张现实与梦幻的墨影；陈子秋认为自己的生活被虚无笼罩，创作了《生活之锚》系列作品，捕捉那些生活中精神低迷的瞬间，以示对抗……

除了这些作品之外，还有更多女性摄影师，她们无处不展现着女性对于生活的细腻、感性，还有不假思索的柔肠。靓靓说道：“作为女性，在大多数情况下，我确实更能与女性艺术家的作品共情。她们的作品与男性艺术家相比，往往更加细致敏锐，有着更强的洞察力和情感表现力。”

From photographer Xiao Ruiyun's submission to the inaugural Miroir Project photography competition, which tied for second place. 肖瑞昀《豆蔻年华》，获得「照镜子第一届女性摄影师大赛」三等奖

From photographer Li Yilin's submission to the inaugural Miroir Project photography competition, which tied for second place. 李亦霖《记忆碎片》，获得「照镜子第一届女性摄影师大赛」特别选择奖

Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own was published in 1929, and with it, she established the idea of women building a “room” that exists outside of patriarchal structures. She advocates for women to express themselves, think independently, and live freely to achieve their full potential. It’s a piece of literature that has greatly influenced Lao Yan and Jing Jing, and in honor of it, they titled their upcoming exhibition—A Myriad of Rooms—after the essay. The exhibition will be held in Chengdu, Beijing, and Shanghai. “One of these ‘rooms’ means different things for different individuals,” Jing Jing says. “For me, a ‘room’ has multiple meanings. The first, female photographers need a ‘room’ that’s quiet from outside interference and influence, a place that’s theirs and private. This idea of a ‘room’ can also be a spiritual space where they can reflect on self-identity and themselves.

Lao Yan adds, “All of the works shown in the exhibition offer viewers a glimpse into these different rooms, private spaces where a myriad of emotions and viewpoints reside.”

1929 年出版的《一间只属于自己的房间》一书中，英国女作家弗吉尼亚·伍尔夫用文字为女性搭建了一栋“房间”。房间中没有男权社会、以及历史对女性的偏见，倡导了女性独立思考、自我审视、自由生活，成就真我的空间。老严和靓靓受这本书的影响很大，并在随后以《无尽的房间》（A Myriad of Rooms）为题在成都、北京、上海进行一场关于女性摄影作品的巡展。对于此次展览，靓靓说：“‘房间’对于不同人来说有着不同的界定，对我来说，它的意义是双重的：第一，女性摄影师在创作时需要独立的、自我的、私密的空间；第二，‘房间’亦是每位女性摄影师私人叙事的一种意象化的象征符号。” 展览收录了“照镜子大赛”中初选的三十组作品，于 10 月初正式展开。老严接着说道：“每一位女性都应当有自己的房间，这里是自我审视与身份认同的精神空间。这里的每一幅作品都代表了创作者的房间，私酿着自我的情绪，以及对待世界的角度。”

From photographer Dawa Yangjin's submission to the inaugural Miroir Project photography competition. 达佤央金《七月的七场夜雾》，获得「照镜子第一届女性摄影师大赛」特别选择奖

“Our mission for starting was simple,” Jing Jing says. “We believe that the photography world hasn’t always been very welcoming for women; it’s something we’ve experienced ourselves. We just want to push the dial.”

For Jing Jing and Lao Yan, there’s not much difference between being behind the lens or in front of the lens. Miroir Project puts their beliefs to action and reassures women everywhere that they’re free to express themselves, to believe in themselves, to chase after their dreams. Without the shackles of self-doubt, they’ll become that much closer to who they see in the mirror.

A Myriad of Rooms
Itinerant Exhibition

10/05～10/31
Kinmirai Hostel Gallery
Building 7, U37 Creative Warehouse,
Shuinianhe South Third Street,
Jinjiang District, Chengdu

11/03~11/30
3.0Space
155A, Caochangdi,
Chaoyang District, Beijing

12/03~12/31
YuanSe Art Space
212, 4th Floor, No.50 Moganshan Road,
Putuo District, Shanghai

目前，“照镜子”项目并非找到一种较为平衡的商业模式，不过两位主创对未来十分坚定，商业化对于她们来说并不是平台成立时的目的。靓靓说：“我们做这件事的初衷也非常简单：我们认为，并且也亲身感受到女性群体在摄影领域存在着一定程度的弱势，而这种与性别相关的弱势使得很多闪闪发光的女性摄影师正在被忽视。我们想做的，就是将这杆天平往平衡点推动一点，再推动一点！” 在她们看来，“镜中”和“镜外”其实并没有太远的距离，“照镜子”在用实际行动告诉身边的每一个女孩，要勇敢表达自己，相信自己，勇敢追梦，不要轻易否定自己，就会和梦想中的那个自己越来越近。

无尽的房间 | 照镜子
城市巡展

10/05～10/31
成都近未来美术馆旅舍太古里店
成都市锦江区水碾河南三街U37创意仓库7栋

11/03~11/30
北京三影堂 3.0Space
北京市朝阳区草场地155A

12/03~12/31
原色艺术空间
上海市普陀区莫干山路50号4楼212

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Contributor: Pete Zhang

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Instagram: @miroirproject
微博: ~/照镜子MiroirProject
微信: 照镜子Miroir Project

供稿人: Pete Zhang

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Laughing Matter 笑一笑，没什么大不了

October 19, 2021 2021年10月19日

The pandemic has affected everyone to varying degrees, and people have found different ways to cope. One method is the ability to find humor even in dark times. The oil paintings of Filipino artist Mark Martinez do precisely that. While his artwork has long dwelled on less than glamorous settings, they’ve always contained a healthy dose of levity. His recent work surrounding the lockdowns, virus outbreaks, and economic crises in the Philippines is no exception.

我们每个人对待事情的态度不尽相同。即便在至暗时刻，也有人喜欢以轻松幽默的方式来对待。菲律宾艺术家 Mark Martinez 在疫情期间与油画作伴。他的作品主题向来严肃，但不乏几分诙谐与幽默，他最近以菲律宾封城、疫情爆发和经济危机为主题创作的一系列作品就是很好的例证。

Martinez’s COVID series builds on his usual cast of characters, which places classical European motifs into everyday Filipino scenes populated by regular people and familiar signage. Only now, his characters are fully dressed in PPE, and many scenes take place in uncomfortable hospitals and virus testing centers. Typical forms of pandemic theater, such as infrared thermometers, also make regular appearances. “Despite the fact that history’s repeating itself, I think this pandemic has brought out the best and worst of us, and definitely tested our faith,” he says

Mark 喜欢绘画肖像，COVID 系列同样围绕人物展开；与此同时，在菲律宾日常场景中穿插各种经典欧洲艺术元素，是他一贯的创作方式。只不过这一次，角色们都身穿个人防护服，场景也大部分发生在医院和病毒检测中心，这些在深沉的色调下令人惴惴不安。仔细观看，红外线温度计等医疗常见的物品屡见不鲜。他说到：“虽然历史不断重演，但我觉得这场疫情暴露出了人们最好和最坏的一面，时刻考验着我们的信仰。”

He’s from Bulucan, a province just north of Metro Manila, and got an early start with art. By the fourth grade, he was already drawing editorial cartoons. “That’s been a huge influence on my work, to this day,” Martinez says. He continued cartooning through high school, and eventually enrolled in a fine-arts program at university. His graduation and success as an artist are something of a victory for his family, since he had two uncles who both enrolled in art school but had to drop out in order to support their families.

Martinez settled on his current style while still in college. “I joined painting competitions using old photos as references, eventually including old and classical paintings,” he recalls. “I combined them with objects or everyday scenes that I witnessed around me. I wanted to make a new story out of them that my fellow Filipinos could relate to.”

Mark 来自马尼拉大都会以北的布卢坎省，很早就接触艺术，才十几岁，便开始尝试“社论漫画”（Editorial Cartoons）。他表示：“直到今天，这对我的创作仍然有着深远的影响。”高中期间，他继续创作漫画，后来大学又入读了美术专业。对他的家人来说，他能够顺利毕业并成为一名艺术家就是一种胜利，因为他的两个叔叔都曾入读艺术学校，但为了养家糊口不得不退学。

他如今的创作风格，早在大学时期便扎下了根基。“我参加绘画比赛，以旧照片为素材，揉进一些经典画作元素，将这些与日常所见的事件或场景相结合，从中讲述全新的故事，一些菲律宾人能产生共鸣的故事，”他回忆道。

The cast of characters in his work is consistent, ranging from cherubic angels and Biblical figures to fast-food workers, street vendors, and jeepney drivers. These characters are depicted while making inuman, singing karaoke, or getting sloppy at a restobar—once-typical forms of social gatherings that are regularly off-limits due to the pandemic. Familiar Filipino iconography in the form of ubiquitous corporate logos are splashed across his work as regularly as they’re seen in every corner of the country. Martinez says he has neutral feelings towards these logos—they simply exist. But he says the fact that Western classical art is more recognizable than the work of local artists bothers him: “Most Filipinos find foreign stuff more appealing or interesting, it doesn’t matter whether it’s a human being, a shoe, or a song. This may be hard to accept, but it’s the reality nowadays.” Repurposing classical paintings is quite common in the Philippines, with several artists, including Martinez, using Girl With A Pearl Earring specifically.

他作品里的角色阵容很一致，基本上都是小天使、圣经角色，以及快餐店工人、街头小贩和吉普尼司机，他们一边喝酒，一边唱卡拉 OK 或在餐吧里买醉——这些曾经常见社交聚会场景，如今却由于疫情而被禁止。画面中还常常出现各种熟悉的菲律宾元素——随处可见的公司标志和招牌。Mark 对这些标志持中立态度，但令他介怀的是，在当地，西方古典艺术往往比本地的艺术家作品更具有辨识度：“大多数菲律宾人都觉得洋人的东西更有吸引力或有趣，不管是人、鞋子或是音乐。这总令人很反感，但这就是事实。”对于菲律宾的艺术家来说，这种在作品中融入西方古典画作元素的创作方式十分常见，而包括 Mark 在内的好几位艺术家对此情有独钟。但其背后的寓意绝非肤浅，往往具有深刻含义。

Despite the pandemic, life goes on, even if it’s drastically different in some ways. Many of the scenes and people Martinez has been known to paint still appear, just now weighed down under new burdens. “I want to show how important our frontliners are; to show appreciation for their daily sacrifices just to serve their fellow countrymen no matter how dangerous it is for themselves and their families,” he says of his newer works. This includes minimum wage workers delivering and serving fast food and street food, not just health workers. “These workers were overlooked at the beginning of the pandemic. That’s why I dress them in PPEs, to emphasize that they are indeed frontline workers. As time went on, people here have definitely started to appreciate them more.” His paintings of the Jolly Bee and Colonel Sanders covered in face masks while being scanned for fever are for the same purpose, as a way to highlight the fast-food workers who’ve lost their jobs or have to risk their safety to keep working. He often adds angels to these paintings as an offering of protection of sorts.

疫情尚未结束，但生活仍要继续，即使在某些方面可能已不同往日。Mark 常画的那些场景和人物依旧生生不息，只是它们被疫情压得喘不过气来。提及新作，他说：“我想把作品献给前线的医护人员，感谢他们的付出，以及每天为广大群众所作出的牺牲。”不只是前线的医护人员，也包括拿着微薄的工资，运送和提供快餐和街头食物的工人。“疫情期间，这些群体一直被人们所忽略，我在画中给他们穿戴防护装备，强调他们也是前线的一份子。不过，现在有越来越多的人意识到了他们的付出与贡献。”同样，他画的快乐蜂（菲律宾的餐饮品牌）和肯德基爷爷佩戴口罩接受测温，这是为了突出那些失去工作或不得不冒着风险继续工作的快餐店员。他还融入了天使，寓意着呵护与保佑。

One common object in the new series is a face mask with the lower half of boxer Manny Pacquiao’s face printed on it. “These masks were a funny Filipino trend even before the pandemic,” he laughs. “Even if we’re having a hard time dealing with this pandemic, we still have enough humor to make each other laugh and feel a bit lighter. There’s too much sorrow and despair these days, so I’m proud if my work can put a smile on someone’s face, even if it’s only for a brief second.”

有一个特别的口罩贯穿了整个系列，这个口罩上印有菲律宾拳击运动员曼尼·帕奎奥下半边脸。他笑着说：“早在疫情之前，这些有趣的口罩就已在菲律宾流行开来。即使在这次疫情中遭受困难，但我们仍然保持幽默，让彼此开怀大笑，放松一下心情。这些日子里充满了太多悲伤和绝望，如果我的作品能让别人会心一笑，哪怕只是一瞬间，我也会感到特别骄傲。”

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Instagram: @mrk.mrtnz

Contributor: Mike Steyels
Chinese Translation: Olivia Li

喜欢我们的故事？欢迎关注我们 Neocha 的微博与微信。

Instagram: @mrk.mrtnz

供稿人: Mike Steyels
英译中: Olivia Li

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Chromatic Mosaics 在混乱中等待光明

October 14, 2021 2021年10月14日

A comics-style explosion erupts in a burst of pop colors in one corner of the sprawling composition. These same colors seem to expand beyond the detonation radius, shading in the floating letterforms and various shapes that have overrun other areas of the frame. Within the same piece, clusters of black-and-white form cryptic rectangles, grainy patches of darkness, and curving lines resembling rice terraces appear throughout. These seemingly disparate art styles and patterns all neatly occupy their own space within the frame. This is Sifat Mpoq Pespaq Diriq, an artwork by Indonesian artist Harishazka Fauzan, who’s built an oeuvre of works all done in a similarly eye-popping style.

混乱无序之中，明快的色彩跳脱而，蔓延至画框之外，一路碾过这当中漂浮的字体和各式各样的图案。就在同一个画面中，黑白相间的神秘矩形贯穿始终，如梯田一样错落在一起。看似迵异的艺术风格与图案相互共存，占据着整个画面。这是印度尼西亚艺术家 Harishazka Fauzan 的作品《Sifat Mpoq Pespaq Diriq》，以令人目不暇接的独特质感创作的一系列作品。

Fauzan’s creative passion began early on, but different from most other artists, it stems from an unlikely source—the military. His father, a devout serviceman, expected him to follow the same career path, and on a trip to a military base, a young Fauzan was fascinated by the sights—the tanks, uniform insignia, and military symbols he saw captivated his imagination. “Taking photos on the base is restricted, so I started thinking: how can I remember everything,” he says. “So I tried to draw them. Since then, I’ve been interested in badges, pins, and anything military. They seemed so detailed, majestic, and sacred even.”

Harishazka 从小就喜欢创作，不同于大多数艺术家的启蒙不同，他对艺术的兴趣最早来自军旅生活。父亲是一名忠诚的军人，小时候总期望他也能参军。在一次军事基地的参观里，年少的 Harishazka 被眼前的坦克、制服徽章和军事符号所深深吸引。“基地当然不能拍照，但我总想把这一切记录下来，于是我试着用笔代替相机。从那时起，我就对徽章、别针和各种军用物品特别感兴趣。它们看起来如此精致、庄严，甚至可以说充满神圣感。”他回忆道。

This artistic aptitude led him into the creative field as a young adult, and in university, he decided to study interior architecture. While he isn’t a practicing architect, these studies still largely influence his illustrative works today.

For the uninitiated, Fauzan’s art can seem random, cobbled together in a spontaneous manner, but in reality, everything is exacting. From the design of every shape to the placement of every object, everything is planned to a tee. It’s a meticulousness that’s been ingrained into him due to his architectural background. “Most of the methods I learned carried over to my current creative process, such as my approaches toward composition, clean linework, and collecting data,” he says. “Everything has to be measured and be in order. It feels like I need to turn on my spatial senses whenever I begin working, and my art ends up responding my surroundings in an architectural way: wind directions, sun trail, lighting arrangements, and so on.”

凭借自身的艺术天赋，他早早地进入了创意领域。大学期间，他决定选读建筑专业。虽然没能成为一名建筑师，但这段学习经历对他现在的插画作品带有很大的影响。

在外行的人看来，Harishazka 的作品看似随意，像是自发拼凑在一起，但实际上，一切创作经过深思熟虑。从每个形状的设计到每个物体的摆放，每一处的细节都极其考究。这种一丝不苟正源于他的建筑学习背景。他说：“我在大学学到的大部分理念延续到了我现在的创作中，例如构图方法、简洁的线条和数据收集。一切都必须经过仔细考量才行，保证有条不紊。我感觉每次创作时，都需要用到我的空间感，而我最终的作品也会以建筑的方式，呼应我所处的环境，譬如风向、太阳轨迹、灯光的布置等等。”

Despite the calculated approach, Fauzan’s ideation process is much less premeditated. His colors are also often decided on spur of the moment, as he believes an instinctual approach to colors will yield even more exciting results. Through his vivid colors and arrangement of patterns, he aims to visualize emotions and memories. “My works are about freezing time, recording everything in a particular moment,” he says. “Seeing my works again in the future can feel like entering a gateway into my past.”

框架上的深思熟虑，让创意的过程变得随意了起来。他选择的色彩往往是即兴而定，听从直觉，有时能达到意想不到的效果。他希望能通过生动色彩与图案编排，将情感与记忆视觉化。他说：“我的作品旨在凝固时间，记录某个特定瞬间的感觉。当我在未来某一天，重新回顾这些作品时，我会感觉像穿越时空，回到了过去。”

Fauzan believes one of the most meaningful works he’s created in recent times was during the pandemic-induced lockdown. Titled Linimasa, Jilid Pertama, the piece was a departure from his earlier styles, though still painted in an array of vivid colors. It also ended up being one of his most time-consuming pieces. “This work kept me sane since I needed a huge diversion,” he says. “I learned a lot about myself creating this piece: I learned how to be more patient, because of the sheer amount of colors I used; I learned about overcoming my fear of technical issues and embracing new challenges. It usually takes four or five months for me to complete an artwork. This one took four.”

Another piece created during the height of the pandemic was Hari-Hari Huru Hara Menanti Hari Hura-Hura, which translates to “Waiting for Brighter Days in these Chaotic Days.” This particular piece was meant to be a visual diary of when the first lockdown happened in Jakarta. Similar in style to Linimasa, Jilid Pertama, the piece is composed of interlocking orbs that form a winding tunnel. Its’ meant to evoke imagery of the smoke trail of an out-of-control rocket, which he believes is an apt symbol of the chaotic times. And like smoke, the chaos of today will inevitably dissipate to give way to clear skies.

在 Harishazka 最近创作的作品中，他觉得最有意义的是一幅在疫情封锁期间完成的画作。这幅作品名为《Linimasa, Jilid Pertama》，与他早期的风格背道而驰，是他耗时最长的作品之一。“在我最需要的时候，这幅作品帮助我保持清醒。在创作这幅作品时，我对自己有了更深入的认识。因为要使用大量色彩，我学会了如何变得更有耐心；我学会了如何克服对技术性问题的恐惧，勇敢迎接新的挑战。我通常四五个月才能完成一幅作品，这幅画就用了我四个月的时间。”

他在疫情爆发期间创作的另一幅作品是《Hari-Hari Huru Hara Menanti Hari Hura-Hura》，意为“在混乱的日子里等待光明”，记录了雅加达第一次封城的样子。其风格与《Linimasa, Jilid Pertama》相似，由球形线条交织成蜿蜒的隧道，令人联想起失控火箭的烟雾轨迹，他觉得这恰如其分地象征了这个混乱时代的面貌。同样，如烟雾一样，今日的混乱终有一天会烟消云散，重现晴朗的天空。

Fauzan keeps an open mind to the world and his artistic endeavors. In recent years, he’s begun dabbling with a variety of tangible mediums, including painting on canvases, creating wall-sized murals, and even making installation pieces.

No matter the medium though, the same sense of joy and optimism radiates from Fauzan’s work. Each canvas is a jamboree of color and commotion, and the shapes that Fauzan has conjured seem to glide freely within the composition. Even though he may touch on darker themes at times, they’re viewed through a lens of hope, of optimism for the future, and ultimately, they’re celebratory in nature—they celebrate the beauty of now while harboring hopes for an even more beautiful future.

Harishazka 对于世界和自己的艺术创作始终保持开放。近年来，他开始尝试各种艺术媒介，包括在画布、壁画上的绘画，甚至也尝试制作装置。

不管是哪一种艺术媒介，他的作品始终散发出一种欢乐与乐观。每幅画都是色彩与情感的狂欢，由他所构思的形状仿佛在画面中自由滑动。即便是在创作更严肃的主题，也透露着充满希望和对未来的乐观态度，归根到底，他的作品都是一种庆祝——庆祝当下的美丽，同时心怀对美好未来的期盼。

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Website: www.harishazka.com
Instagram: @harishazka
Behance: ~/harishazka

Contributor: David Yen
Chinese Translation: Olivia Li

喜欢我们的故事？欢迎关注我们 Neocha 的微博与微信。

网站: www.harishazka.com
Instagram: @harishazka
Behance: ~/harishazka

供稿人: David Yen
英译中: Olivia Li

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Coffin 在棺材屋中度过的那晚

October 12, 2021 2021年10月12日

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A loud soccer match on television transforms into an actual game happening right inside the apartment. Noisy snoring ratchets up to a high-decibel typhoon. A yellow flood submerges the room after someone takes a trip to the bathroom. The ability to express how something actually feels by drawing it into proportion is where animation can really excel. And when you can’t sleep, everything seems just that dramatic. That’s what the Gobelins animation team is depicting with their recent short film, Coffin, which visualizes a night in the life of one of Hong Kong’s notorious coffin homes.

电视上嘈杂的足球竞技，转眼变成了球员在屋内的盘带和拼抢；如雷的鼾声升级为超强台风；洗手间内的污浊如潮水一般略过地板。通过夸张的手法来描述事件，以生动的方式表达实际的感受，这恰恰是动画带来的力量。而当你无法入睡时，周围一切，哪怕再细微的声响，也会变本加厉。这支动画片来自 Gobelins 团队最新的创作《棺材》(Coffin)，展示了在香港臭名昭著的棺材屋中度过的一晚。

“We wanted to tell a story about one guy’s struggle with insomnia,” the team says. “But by placing it in a realistic setting, we’re also able to educate people about the coffin apartment situation. Why do they still exist? How do they affect people’s lives?”

团队解释说：“是希望讲述一个关于失眠的故事。但以现实环境为背景，能更好地让人们了解动画之外的真实世界。引起他们的思考：为什么仍然有棺材屋的存在？生活在那里的人过得怎么样？”

Hong Kong’s coffin homes have long been a source of fascination for those on the outside and a well of frustration for those stuck within them. The tiny units are the size of a bed, and they’re stacked on top of each other within subdivided apartments sharing a single bathroom. These spaces are the only alternative to homelessness for some 200,000 people in the world’s most expensive city.

一直以来，香港棺材屋吸引着外人和媒体好奇的眼光，但对于住在里面的人来说，这里却是痛苦的囚牢。狭窄的房间只有放下一张床，彼此堆叠在一房一卫的空间内。在这座全球最昂贵的城市里，这些棺材屋便 20 万人的家，也是穷困潦倒的唯一选择。

The five-minute film took ten months to complete. Since no one from Gobelins is from Hong Kong itself (although one is from nearby Guangzhou), they took inspiration from news articles and photo essays, as well as local television shows and movies that depict the struggle of those living within these coffin homes. “It’s really more about surviving than living in these spaces,” they explain.

5 分钟的短片，共耗时十个月完成。由于 Gobelins 团队成员中没有一人来自香港（只有其中一个人来自附近的广州），他们只能从新闻和图片、电视和电影中找寻棺材屋的灵感。他们表示：“住在这样的地方，生存是当务之急。”

In the comments for the video, Hong Kong citizens have talked about how it made them feel: “Some said it’s super funny and really made them laugh. But the others felt very bad because through the film they said they saw themselves.” Other people commented that they doubted the quality of life in these spaces could really be that bad. “To be honest, the reality is way more brutal.”

在短片的评论中，香港当地人也分享了他们的观点：“有的人看完说很有趣，令人发笑。也有的人看完非常难过，因为他们在短片中看到了自己。”还有人质疑，棺材屋的生活真的有那么糟糕吗？团队人说：“说实话，现实更加残酷。”

In so many ways, the pandemic exposed and exacerbated inequality around the world, with those already suffering facing even more hardship. Residents of coffin homes are no exception and the spaces proved to be hotspots for the virus. Lockdowns and unemployment also keep them cooped up in their holes even longer. Hopefully, as more projects like this crop up, they can help raise awareness and become a catalyst for change.

从许多方面来说，这次的疫情暴露并加剧了世界各地的不平等问题，贫困人群陷入了更大的困境中。棺材屋的居民也不例外，而这样的空间本来就是病毒传播的温床。封锁措施和失业问题又进一步延长了他们困在棺材屋的时间。希望今后能有更多这样的作品出现，引起大多数人对问题的重视，最终成为改变现实的催化剂。

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Contributor: Mike Steyels
Chinese Translation: Olivia Li

喜欢我们的故事？欢迎关注我们 Neocha 的微博与微信。

供稿人: Mike Steyels
英译中: Olivia Li

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Hardcore Crochet 我的编织，要足够硬核！

October 7, 2021 2021年10月7日

When one thinks of crochet, one automatically thinks of dainty coasters, homeware, and table runners. Contrary to conventions, Ilyang Ilyang elevates the craft to new heights. Daphne Chao, the Filipino artist behind the crochet brand, describes its style as “hardcore handmade crochet”, and fittingly so. Its colorful Instagram feed boasts of wacky head-turners woven by yarn, such as a Nacho Libre-inspired Luchador mask, a two-kilogram vest, and a sunny-side-up egg hat with bacon strip ties.

The concept for Ilyang Ilyang stems from Chao’s great grandmother, who the brand is named after. “My mom and my grandmother always told me stories about how she would spend her days crocheting table runners or bed sheets while she smoked her tobacco and drank her Cerveza Negra,” she laughs. These stories about her great grandmother’s devil-may-care attitude are what led to the idea of a brand that subverts the notion of crocheting being a grandmother’s craft. “To me, she was the complete embodiment of hardcore badass crochet,” Chao says. “It’s like a full-circle moment.”

提到钩针编织，很自然会让人联想到精美的杯垫、家居用品和桌布，但 Ilyang Ilyang 的创意钩针编织，将这类工艺提升至全新的高度。品牌主理人是来自菲律宾的艺术家 Daphne Chao，她形容自己的风格是“硬核手工钩针编织”，在看了她的作品之后，这个形容或十分贴切。打开她的Instagram 页面，五颜六色、设计新奇的纱线编织作品映入眼帘，例如受喜剧片《疯狂神父》启发的墨西哥摔跤手面具、两公斤重的背心和一顶带培根系绳的太阳蛋帽子。

Ilyang Ilyang 的概念和名字都来自 Daphne 的曾祖母。“我妈妈和外婆常常跟我讲起她们曾经编织桌布和床单的故事，那时候她们一边抽烟喝酒，一边做着钩针编织，很有生活气息，”她笑着说道。这些故事，让她萌生了创立品牌的想法，想要打消人们对钩针编织是一门老掉牙的传统手艺的偏见。Daphne表示：“对奶奶来说，就算是手艺活儿，也要抽烟、伴酒，她完美诠释了什么是硬核钩针编织。创立这个品牌感觉像是冥冥之中的安排。”

Chao only began crocheting in early 2020 when she found herself stuck in Panglao, Bohol at the start of the lockdown in the Philippines. When she launched Ilyang Ilyang after returning to Manila, she had no clear idea of where it would head. The only products she had available then were sun hats and bikini tops. However, she realized that most of her pieces were too femme and not inclusive enough. She decided that her next piece would be gender-neutral, and the yarn vomit vest was born. The multi-colored cropped vest is made from her hoard of scrap Monaco yarn and is one of a kind. She credits this design as being the piece that opened her eyes to the unlimited potential of crocheting.

Daphne 在 2020 年初才开始钩针编织，当时菲律宾因疫情封锁，她被困在薄荷岛的邦劳。回到马尼拉后，她创办了 Ilyang Ilyang 品牌，但当时的她对未来并没有清晰的打算。当时品牌唯一推出的产品只有太阳帽和比基尼。她随后意识到，自己大部分作品都过于女性化，不够多元。于是决定推出更中性化的产品，很快，纱线呕吐背心就诞生了。这款缤纷的短背心是她用剩余的摩纳哥纱线制成，这样的钩针方式在市面上绝无仅有。她也认为，正是这件背心，让她发现了钩针编织的无限可能。

Though her eye-catching designs may seem carefully planned, Chao admits that most of her products don’t come with elaborate backstories. Most of her pieces are spur-of-the-moment ideas, such as a vest designed to hold up to 65 eggs, which was inspired by the Easter holiday. Although this began as more of a joke, the vest garnered a surprising amount of attention, an offbeat piece that sat somewhere between streetwear, workwear, and “gorpcore,” a style centered on outdoor camping gear.

Another recent piece that has caught attention is the Banana Bundle Bag, which has individual pouches where individual fingers in a hand of bananas can fit snugly. “It was actually a concept from a customer turned good friend,” she says. “When he mentioned it, I knew I had to make it right away.” Chao adds that she finds these unorthodox projects the most fun, as there aren’t any precedents she can reference. The design depends on pure intuition.

你可能会以为这些作品是精心设计而成，但 Daphne 表示，自己其实大部分作品都没有过多构思，常常是一时兴起的创意，例如一件可装下 65 个鸡蛋的背心，其灵感就来自复活节。这件出于好玩而设计的背心，反倒在圈子里备受欢迎，介于街头服饰、工作服和户外装备之间。

另一件最近较火的单品是香蕉包包，这个包包由多个类香蕉形状的小袋构成，可供香蕉串里的每根香蕉单独放入。她说：“这个包包的灵感来自一个顾客，当他提出这个想法的时候，我当场就想把它做出来，后来我们成了朋友。”Daphne 表示，这些不同寻常的新奇作品很有意思，因为没有任何参照，一切的设计都遵从自己的直觉。

When she made the Instagram account for Ilyang Ilyang, it was just a place where she could post her work and interact with the supportive crochet community. Out of the positive reception, she began offering pieces for sale and accepting commissions. It’s still far from a conventional brand account though. “Ilyang Ilyang has become a mish-mash of mostly memes, crochet, and occasionally some ‘ridiculously unconventional shit’, which I think provides an unintimidating space for conversations and creativity to flourish,” she says. “It has introduced me to a range of creative and artists where I was able to build relationships that go beyond [just] buyer and seller. The DMs are always open to being a dump for everyone’s wild ideas. It’s highly encouraged even!”

刚开始创建 Ilyang Ilyang 的 Instagram 帐户时，她只是单纯地想分享作品，和圈内朋友交流。但随着热度越来越高，她决定开始批量生产，接受定制。尽管如此，帐户仍然谈不上是正儿八经的品牌。她表示：“Ilyang Ilyang 是某种互联网文化、钩针编织和怪诞创意的大杂烩，我希望它作为一个平台，可以鼓励更多人大胆地交流和尽情发挥创意，我也因此认识了很多创意人和艺术家，和很多人建立超越买家与卖家之外的关系。很多人通过私信，和我分享他们各种疯狂的创意，收到这些私信我也很开心！”

Beyond the brand, Chao has high hopes for crochet wear as a whole. The resurgence of the 70s trend has made waves worldwide, even making its way to fashion runways and celebrity wardrobes, but Chao wants to see it being adopted by younger crowds in a more mainstream capacity, and not only as a quirky statement piece. “In all honesty, I just really want to see crochet hit the streetwear scene in big cities. Make crochet core happen!”

Through its bold explorations of the versatility and limits of crocheting, Ilyang Ilyang has become a standout name among the burgeoning crochet community. Alongside striking pieces you never thought could be crocheted, the brand approaches its designs with humor, passion, and skill in one Instagram feed — all while maintaining its edgy yet eccentric image. “I pursued ‘hardcore’ designs to remind people that crochet can be so much more than what you initially thought it was, being that it’s seen as a feminine hobby,” Chao says. “It doesn’t always have to be dainty, delicate, or exclusively for one gender, or even something that’s only suitable for a Coachella-themed party. Crochet can be as hardcore as you want it to be.”

除品牌之外，Daphne 也对钩针编织这种工艺寄予厚望。这股风靡全球的 70 年代潮流甚至吹到了时装秀场上，但 Daphne 希望它最终能成为一种主流文化，被年轻群体所接纳，而不仅仅是一时的新奇潮流。“我其实很希望看到钩针编织成为城市大街小巷里的时尚潮流，让钩针编织火起来！”

Ilyang Ilyang 呈现了多元化的钩针编织作品，大胆探索这种手工艺的无限可能，现在更已成为新兴钩针编织圈子里的佼佼者。这些出人意料的钩针编织个性作品，体现着品牌的幽默、热情和传统技艺的继承，同时又彰显了前卫、小众的态度。Daphne 表示：“我选择 ‘硬核’ 这个词语，就是为了提醒人们，钩针编织不只是你所想象的那么简单，也不是一种古老的女性化爱好。它不一定要风格优美，也不只属于某一种性别，更不是只适合参加音乐节主题派对。相反，钩针编织也可以很硬核，即便呈现的方式不同，但也要一直延续下去。”

Like our stories? Follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

Instagram: @ilyang.ilyang

Contributor: Simone Yatco
Chinese Translation: Olivia Li

喜欢我们的故事？欢迎关注我们 Neocha 的微博与微信。

Instagram: @ilyang.ilyang

供稿人: Simone Yatco
英译中: Olivia Li

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Meet Mr. Two 我的插画，就是玩！

October 5, 2021 2021年10月5日

Creating a sense of motion with nothing but a still image takes some real talent. Thai illustrator Song Chuaynukoon has perfected this technique. The energy in his work is undeniable, whether it be characters soaring through time and space or an explosion ripping through the scene—everything moves without moving. Sometimes all it takes is a composition that channels the eye in the exact direction he wishes. Even calm scenes retain that sense of motion, albeit to more subtle ends, like a lonely astronaut floating in the isolation of outer space, the pull of gravity palpable.

以静止的图像营造动感并非易事，而这正是泰国插画家 Song Chuaynukoon 所擅长的事。笔触之间的能量往往溢出屏幕，无论是穿梭时空的战士，还是极度撕裂的爆炸场景，都动感十足。他的作品，能让观众的眼球随着线条溜进他构建的世界。即便在冷静克制的场景中，也能通过色彩与轮廓间的微妙处理，令观众察觉到动感的鼻息。

Chuaynukoon comes from a creative family, with relatives on his mom’s side involved in architecture, sound engineering, and video editing, but he says even they don’t fully understand his line of work. “At first, they were very concerned with my career choice. But as time goes by they’ve become more understanding. They trust me now.” He studied to become a graphic designer at university only to discover that it wasn’t for him. So he went back to the literal drawing board to practice sketching until he felt confident, and his MeetMrTwo alias was born.

Song 来自一个创意行业家庭，家里有从事建筑设计、音响工程和视频编辑的亲戚，但他说家人有时并不能完全理解他在做的事。“最早他们都很担心我在的这个行业。不过慢慢地，他们也理解了许多。”他在大学的时候本打算成为一名平面设计师，却发现自己并不适合。于是才决定学画，直到对自己水平有足够自信之后，Song 正式以 MeetMrTwo 名字出道。

Some of Chuaynukoon’s most impressive pieces are collage-like, with dense layers of visuals piled on top of each other. Intricate machinery, mythical beasts, and children’s toys seem to battle for space within his compositions. “Playing with old toys and games as a kid was really consoling to me and drawing them brings me back.” These warm childhood memories are now blended with more adult scenes of Thai nightlife and urban violence. This ties in with an overt appreciation for Akira’s Otomo Katsuhiro, one of his biggest inspirations, and is an artist that very famously uses toys in somewhat twisted ways.

仔细观察，你会发现 Song 的作品有点接近拼贴艺术 —— 视觉元素纵横交错、繁复的机械构造以及各种各种神兽和儿童玩具充斥其中。“重温儿时的玩具和电子游戏总能平复我创作时的焦虑，现在把它们画下来让我仿佛回到那个梦幻的年代。”他在作品中将这些温暖的童年记忆与泰国夜生活和城市暴力等场景交织在一起。与此同时，还贯穿着他对《阿基拉》作者大友克洋的钟情，这位日本动画导演和漫画家是他最主要的灵感之一，大友克洋就曾屡次在创作中以出人意料的方式加入玩具元素。

With the Thai democracy movement in full swing, Chuaynukoon has become more explicit in his political beliefs, which partially explains the darker turn his style has taken. Powerful images of angry crowds railing against corruption and a lack of agency stand alongside more graceful, comical pieces in his catalog. Is he afraid that he might get in trouble? “A little bit,” he laughs. “But if you still ignore the problem that’s happening right now, eventually the problem will be coming to you.”

随着泰国民主运动愈演愈烈，Song 用艺术的方式表达着自己的立场，这也是他的创作风格开始日益暗黑化的原因之一。在他的作品目录中，愤怒的人物角色抨击了腐败与混乱的政治局势，他们都被精致、奔放的漫画式线条包裹。当问及他是否害怕惹上麻烦时，他笑着说道：“如果你一味忽略眼前的问题，你等待的将会是最严厉的审判。”