疫期特别策划
与12位国际艺术家的对话
Conversations with 12 International Artists
疫情正在全球蔓延，在国际化的今天无论身处何方都能体验到疫情的残酷，以及这场事件中对每个人生活的改变。我们将目光投射到异国，对身处异乡的华裔艺术家或在中国生活多年此刻在母国抗击疫情的艺术家进行系列访谈。希望通过他们的文字、照片或是影像资料让我们了解此刻他们的所思所想。
The epidemic is spreading all over the world, and in todays international world, no matter where you are, you would experience the cruelty of the epidemic and the changes it has made to everyones life. We would like to have conversations with Chinese artists having lived abroad for many years and foreign artists back to their homecountries after many years in China. Their words, photographs or images will show what they are viewing and thinking about at the moment.
我们不奢望通过这样的访谈就能拼凑出此刻全球艺术圈现在进行时这个大拼图的全貌，但我们寄期望于这一场场对话。至少能帮助我们思考必须面对的那些问题：我们该如何重建人类社会与自然的平衡？如何修复“文明冲突”造成的族群撕裂？而对于个人而言，重要的是对生命、经济安全的忧虑以及经历这一次疫病大面积传染洗礼后，对人性的热爱，信仰的信任是否依旧坚定？
We wouldn’t say that the interview could grasp the whole picture of global art. We still expect to rethink questions around us: how can we reconstruct the balance of human society and nature? How to fix the "clash of civilizations" caused by community? For individuals, is there room left for love of humanity, the trust of belief, after such an epidemic while confronting possible losses to human society and economy.
策划：张瑜洋
Curator: Zhang Yuyang
特邀策划：熊云皓、萧尚
Guest Curators: Xiong Yunhao, Xiao Shang
坐标：北京
Niamh Cunningham 倪芙瑞莲
倪芙瑞莲（爱尔兰）有着不同寻常的人生轨迹，1989年毕业于阿尔斯特大学并获得生物医学专业理学硕士之后，她先后在爱尔兰、英国、南非、香港、东京、迪拜、布拉格和北京等多个地方旅行和工作。来到中国以前，倪芙瑞莲在迪拜举办了两次个人展览，并参与多个公共艺术项目。8月，她在中国的首次个展在北京东岳美术馆举办。中央电视台、北京电视台，以及爱尔兰广播电视台都报道过她的展览并播出艺术家访谈节目。
Niamh Cunningham (Ireland) has had an unusual trajectory, after graduating with an MSc in Biomedical Sciences in 1989 from the University of Ulster she has travelled and worked in Ireland , England, South Africa, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Dubai , Prague and Beijing. Before arriving in China she had two solo exhibitions in Dubai where she also engaged in public art projects. Her first solo exhibition in China opened at Beijing’s Dong Yue Art Museum in August, . Over the years her exhibitions and interviews have been featured on CCTV, Beijing TV and RTE.
-，倪芙瑞莲与飞扬戈恩合作，为在中国举办的爱尔兰文化节艺术展 “爱尔兰浪涛”策展。她也是10月“私密的伤痕”国际艺术交流巡回展北京站合作策展人。该展览曾在纽约、杭州、台北等多地展出。她在自己的网站记录参与的艺术项目，并在“艺术家自述”栏目里介绍其他参展艺术家的作品。其中一些文章和文章修订版发表在《中国日报》及其他刊物上。
Cunningham has curated various exhibitions for the Irish Wave Exhibitions with Fion Gunn from - as part of the Irish Festival in China. She was local curator for the Beijing exhibition ‘Intimate Transgressions’ in October . This project was also exhibited at other venues in New York, Hangzhou and Taipei. Niamh documents her projects on her blog and often researches the work of other participating artists under the section “What the artist says”. Some of her blogs or altered versions of her blogs have been published in China Daily and other publications.
她的 “树之记忆宫殿” 是一个关注生态环境的艺术实践，通过从中国及世界各地不同地方的人们那里收集关于树的故事，探索讲述的力量。
Her ‘Memory Palace of Trees’ project is an ecological art practice exploring the power of storytelling where she collects stories about trees from people in different communities in China and around the world.
面对自然的四季轮回
我们应该心怀谦卑
○
文/倪芙瑞莲
昨晚下雨了。我发现这样不经常发生的事常常让人感受更敏锐。雨滴拍打在窗户上，它们轻快的歌声穿过玻璃传到干燥的这一面。本周早些时候发布的一份报告称，过去十年是美国四百年以来最干旱的一段时间（巧合的是，其中一些信息来自树木，研究人员检测了树木年轮中的土壤湿度）。我的童年是在爱尔兰度过的，那时候几乎天天下雨，我还记得为下雨时不可以跑出去探险而感到懊恼。而现在，我住在气候干燥的中国北方，我知道在这里人们喜欢雨的到来。沉浸在这动听的声音里，我想到世界不同地方的情形，还有当前全球面临的混乱和麻烦。
Last night it rained. Such a rare happening I find often heightens awareness. The pattering bounce of droplets against the window pane have permeated the dry side of the window with their song. Earlier in the week a report was released that this past decade was the driest in 400 years in the US. (Coincidentally some of this information comes from trees by detecting soil moisture in tree rings.) As a child growing up in Ireland I lived with rain almost everyday and remember the annoyance as it prohibited outdoor adventures. Now living in the dry north of China I acknowledge how welcome the rainfall is. While being showered in this glorious sound I imagine the different regions of the world and the troubles of current global disruption.
奥林匹克公园 Olympic Park .2.1 Niamh Cunningham 倪芙瑞莲
从农历新年开始，我和当记者的丈夫汤姆，还有儿子飞扬一起待在北五环的家里。我用最大的房间作为工作室，不过我的工作和工作空间已经让杂乱扩展到每个房间。儿子从大学校园搬回家住并且在线学习，这对每个人来说都是个不小的挑战。一天之中有几次，我们共用一张大桌子在各自电脑前工作，有时他进自己的卧室继续学习或者弹吉他。
I have been living at home north of the fifth ring road with my journalist husband Tom and son Fionn since the Chinese New Year. I use the largest room in the apartment as my studio and of course my work and workspace has spread its chaos into every room. This is quite a challenge as my son no longer lives on his university campus and continues his studies online at home. We share the big table for our separate computer work several times a day and sometimes he goes into his bedroom to continue his study or guitar playing.
孤星剪影 Lone Star Stencil Niamh Cunningham 倪芙瑞莲
在北京这些年，我们先后住过的三套公寓都在水清树绿的奥林匹克森林公园旁边。在隔离的这些日子，我把从前定期游泳改成了经常去公园散步。冬去春来，我见证了皑皑白雪与深色的光秃秃的树枝形成鲜明对比，渐渐变成淡绿的枝条映衬着一团团一簇簇盛开的花朵。当我们意识到生命有限，观察大自然四季轮回比以往更令人沉思、心怀谦卑。
During our many years here in Beijing all three apartments we lived in were a stone’s throw away from the expansive web of green and blue things Olympic Park. During the lockdown my regular swims have been traded for frequent walks in the park where I could witness snow scenes contrasted with dark bare branches to the transformed fleece of blossoms and pale green of treetops. When our sense of mortality is heightened observing the cycles of nature is very meditative and humbling.
过去几个月疫情之下，在公园里散步让人感到欣慰。公园里人人都戴口罩，不过人多的时候保持社交距离还真不太容易。
Taking walks in the park during the pandemic has been a grateful release these past months. Park culture has everyone wearing masks, and trying to maintain social distancing is a challenge on those days when there are crowds.
多年来，我经常参加各种艺术项目，在中国各地旅行的同时，结识了很多艺术家同行，比如湖南张家界、山东无棣、深圳观澜、四川沙湾等地举办的多个艺术项目，还有许多旅行群展和沙龙活动。在隔离期间，我回想起之前结实的的许多艺术家朋友，以及我们一起度过的愉快时光。当时我跟他们学习汉语口语，很艰难的获得了一些小小的进步。疫情期间，我一直与一些艺术家朋友保持联系，也希望结识更多艺术家朋友。
I used to travel quite a lot on various projects outside Beijing over the years, getting to know other artists on residencies in Zhangjiajie Hunan , Wudi Shandong , Guanlan Shenzhen , Shawan Sichuan , and numerous other travelling group exhibitions and salons. During these isolated times I reflect how fortunate I was to get to know many artists, enjoy their company, learn from them and gradually, slowly and painstakingly make small improvements on my spoken Chinese language. I have kept in touch with some artist friends during the pandemic and need to reach out to more friends.
早上匆匆写下的记录 First scribbles of the day
一开始我有点困惑，但后来一月底看到约翰斯·霍普金斯大学的现场直播，我才明白有可能出现的全球混乱。漆黑的世界地图只有右边是亮的，几个中国城市标着红色小点，湖北则是一个大大的令人不安的红色的圆。光标扫过地球仪，显示新冠病毒将穿越全球地形边界。从二月初开始，我每天早上起来第一件事就是记下湖北的数字，然后是北京的。几周以后，早上匆匆写下的记录也包含欧洲和其他一些国家。很快，我发现WorldoMeter实时网站提供更详细的数据，比如每百万人口进行的测试次数、数字图表列出每日增长、以直方图形式呈现各个分区统计概况。
I was initially puzzled but then understood the possibility of a global disruption when I saw the Johns Hopkins live feed at the end of January. This pitch-black global map was illuminated only on the righthand side with a few of Chinese cities marked with tiny red specks, a large terrifying wheel of red for Hubei. While sweeping the cursor over the globe these borders of the global terrain would be permeable to COVID-19. From early February first thing every morning I would jot down the figures for Hubei and then Beijing. A few weeks later European and other countries were added to my morning scribbles. Soon I discovered the detailed statistics of the Worldometer live feed website providing much more detailed recording of test numbers per million population with daily increase in numbers with charts and a histogram overview of each statistic collection.
我继续在纸上记下数据，也在电脑里存一份文档。当全家人坐在一起吃晚饭讨论某个地方情况的时候，我的纸记录就派上用场了，可以用作参考。我经常想到那些在武汉和别的城市医学实验室做检测的人，想到世界其他地方的检测中心。
I continue my numbers of paper alongside a file on computer. The paper sheets are only useful if there is a family dinner table debate about some part of the world and I can present the numbers. I have often thought of people who were working in medical laboratories testing for Wuhan and other cities then later the other testing centres over the globe.
我当医学检验师已经是很久之前的事了。30年前从大学毕业后，我在肯特及坎特伯雷医院化学病理实验室工作了三年。我试图四处收集数据，甚至努力回忆早些年学的基础科学，想弄清楚我们这个世界到底怎么了。新冠病毒是一种有机生物体，藏在我们眼皮底下，想在人类宿主身上存活， 特别喜欢通过近距离接触传播。幸运的是，在我的祖国爱尔兰，领导人及时采取措施防止扩散。爱尔兰总理利奥·瓦拉德卡从政前当过医生。尽管情况有所好转，爱尔兰卫生部长对人们的骄傲自满情绪表示担忧，认为进展来之不易，稍稍懈怠就可能再次恶化。
It has been a long time since left a profession as medical technologist. After finishing university 30 years ago I worked for three years in the chemical pathology laboratories of Kent and Canterbury Hospital. I attempt to glean over the statistics and even try to recall the basics of science from an earlier life to make sense and understand the world we live in now. The virus is a living organism hiding in plain sight with a will to survive in each human host, it favours close encounters. In my home country thank fully the leadership took early steps to contain the spread. Ireland’s Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Leo Varadkar practiced as a medical doctor before entering politics. However Ireland’s health minister fears complacency as progress is fragile it would not take much for progress to be reversed.
似乎在疫苗诞生之前我们就会找到应对新冠肺炎的方法。大型社会实验推动教育和其他一些服务通过在线平台进行，有些方式会一直持续，新行业必随之诞生。相关技术和大数据都在向前推进。在韩国，手机应用被用来追踪病例密切接触者，其他国家也在谨慎开发类似应用。
It would seem that treatments for COVID -19 will arrive well before vaccinations. There are huge social experiments which have pushed education and other services to online platforms, some of this approach will not be reversed and new industries are inevitable. Such technologies and also big data have pushed forward. Contact tracing of infections as they do in South Korea using phone apps is now also carefully studied by other countries.
沉醉巴罗河 Barrow Trance 130 x 163cm Niamh Cunningham 倪芙瑞莲
在新冠疫情下，我选择把精力放在我的社会生态实践项目上，收集关于树木的故事，每周写一篇博客。“树之记忆宫殿”项目不仅仅是创作有关树的作品，它也鼓励我接触各种各样的人、询问他们各自的故事。我想在社区建设、分享我们与自然的联系，以及了解正在兴起的项目，比如自然保护、森林砍伐、防止未来气候变化引发全球性问题等多个领域，探索讲述的力量。
During the COVID -19 era I chose to focus on the socio-eco project of collecting stories on trees for my weekly blog. The ‘Memory Palace of Trees’ project is not just about making artwork about trees but it is a nudge for me to reach out to all kinds of people and ask them for their stories. I wanted to explore the power of storytelling in building communities, in sharing our connections with nature and also learning about current projects that are sprouting up regarding nature conservation, deforestation and preventing future global disruptions due to climate change.
落雁森林 90x 240cm Niamh Cunningham 倪芙瑞莲 Swan Goose Forest 90x 240cmNiamh Cunningham 倪芙
新冠疫情以来，我完成了几幅有关树的布上画和一些混合材质蔗糖作品。我的蔗糖作品基于自然风景，探索转变这一主题。目前正在进行中的五件作品以中国园林为题，为今年晚些时候可能在深圳举办的团体艺术项目做准备。创作的过程，是通过材料自身性质和结晶作用探索转变发生的过程，通过仔细规划和预测，我可以放下对最终结果的所有权，让作品继续结晶的过程，同时我把这些变化拍摄记录下来。
Since the COVID era I have completed some tree paintings on canvas and also some mixed media sucrose work. My sucrose work is based on nature and explores themes of transformation. The five pieces I have been working on explores Chinese garden themes for a potential group project in Shenzhen later this year. The process explores the process of transformation with materiality and crystalisation, through careful planning and predicting I can let go of the ownership of the final result, let the painting continue its process while I photograph the changes that occur.
Pond Poplar 蔗糖系列2，4，7, 10顺序 Niamh Cunningham 倪芙瑞莲 Pond Poplars Sucrose Series Nia
蔗糖系列 尖峰豫园 Spiked Blossoms YuYuan Sucrose mixed media 12.02.
蔗糖系列. 豫园歪墙 Crooked wall Yuyuan Sucrose Mixed media 11.02.
以有形的方式传递艺术
Art delivers in tangible ways
几年前我在深圳参加了一个版画艺术家驻地项目，在那里度过了愉快的几星期。中国疫情刚刚爆发的时候，我在群中注意到很多人设法购买个人防护用品。版画基地的赵先生为附近一家深圳医院募捐和采购，世界各地的艺术家都尽力帮助他。当中国情况稳定下来，而其他地方变得严重的时候，他开始为那些身处疫情严重地区的艺术家采购。我告诉他我在西班牙的哥哥和嫂子的事，我嫂子为红十字会、警察局和其他机构协调联络制作口罩的缝纫小组。上星期我听说一个寄给他们的包裹已经在路上。谢谢你，赵先生。
A couple of years ago I spent a few enjoyable weeks on a printmaking residency in Shenzhen. At the beginning of the outbreak in China I noticed on a group chat a lot of activity sourcing personal protective supplies. Mr Zhao from the base was collecting and sourcing PPE for a nearby hospital in Shenzhen. Artists from all over the world were trying to help him. Once the situation stabilized in China and escalated outside he then continued to source material for those artists in locations who were in deep need. I told him about my brother and his wife in Spain, my sister in law has been co ordinating sewing groups for making masks for the Red cross, police and other groups. I heard last week that there is a package on its way to them. Thank you，Mr.Zhao.
我和东岳美术馆的老朋友袁先生聊天的时候，又收到了一份意想不到的礼物。我们谈到往海外寄口罩不太容易。我告诉他，我想向爱尔兰和英国的社区和医学中心寄一些口罩（年轻时我在英国国家医疗服务体系中工作过）。上星期他寄了一大箱子口罩，一同寄去的还有我在淘宝上买的一箱。一箱送到都柏林内城区社区团体，另一箱送到肯特与坎特伯雷医院。在中国，也有爱尔兰社区募捐防护用具，许多艺术家朋友为此出力。谢谢你们每一个人。中国朋友们的热心肠深深感动了我。
Another unexpected gift came when I was chatting with an old friend Mr.Yuan from Dong Yue Art Museum. We discussed challenges in posting facemasks overseas. I told him I wanted to also send masks to communities and medical centres in Ireland and England (as a young adult I had worked for the NHS –National Health Service in England). He sent a large box of masks last week and along with another box I bought on Taobao I arranged one box to go to community groups in inner City Dublin and another box to go Kent and Canterbury Hospital. There were also fundraisers by the Irish community for PPE here in China where artist friends contributed. You know who you are, Thank You. I was really moved how Chinese friends wanted to help in this effort.
2月3日Niamh Cunningham 倪芙瑞莲 February 3
在公园散步的时候，我经常登上公园北侧一座小山，从那里可以俯瞰五环路以内，从五环到四环，沿着中轴线再向南延伸，就到达故宫。虽然从山上看不见所有这些细节，但我对这条轨迹很熟悉。一路上我在不同地方拍照。上山的第一站是一个木制平台。每次我都把胳膊架在同一根栏杆上，以此来标记位置。有一天，一个人背对着我跳舞，他伴随着扬声器放出的音乐旋转、扭动身体。我不想惊动他，悄悄走了，不过有一点点后悔没有走上前去聊几句。
During the park walks I often reach a hill on the northside of the park which overlooks the entire grounds beyond the fifth ring road all the way to the 4th ring road extending further south through the central axis that reaches to the forbidden city. Although all those details are not visible from this hill I am familiar with this trajectory. I take photos at different points along this hill. The first stop I make on this hill is a wooden platform. I mark my position by resting my elbow on the same fence pole. One day there was a dancer with his back to me playing his music on a speaker while twisting and turning. I slipped away not wanting to alarm him and with a pang of regret that I didn’t initiate a conversation.
Wooden Platform April 17
