很荣幸,刚刚出炉的第3届三影堂摄影奖大奖得主 陈哲 便是今天为我们讲第七个故事的摄影师。假杂志曾经介绍过她的“可承受的”系列。而这次正值她的新系列“蜜蜂”上线,于是我就邀请她讲讲这个系列背后的故事。陈哲前些日子正好也从加利福尼亚帕萨德纳艺术中心设计学院毕业,在祝贺之余,也要祝愿,一个刚刚年过二十不久的摄影师的未来有着很多可能性。很多人看到她的“可承受的”系列作品之后难以理解或接受,但是当你真正了解了她创作的原点和背后的故事后,便会明白这些作品的意义和力量。至于这个新系列为什么叫“蜜蜂”?请慢慢看她的作品,作品之后是文字,看完之后也许你就明白。
We are lucky, Zhe Chen, the hottest winner of Three Shadow Centre photography grand prize 2011 will tell a story for us. Jia Za Zhi introduced her The Bearable series last year. And she just released her lastest series Bees, so I invited her to talk about the background story of this series. By the way, she just graduated from Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, CA. We not only congratulations to her here, but also wish her a bright future. Let’s read her new works, the words are behind.
《蜜蜂》
它们把生命留在了自己制造的伤口里。
—— 维吉尔 (古罗马诗人)
为了生命,抵押生命。《蜜蜂》记录了这样一群人,当面对生命中的混乱、暴力、疏离与无可避免的失去时,他们在自己的身体上留下痕迹,以此确认并保存诗意的心。2010年,以《可承受的》(过去四年我个人自伤史之记录)作为护照,我接近了这群生命的抵押者——蜜蜂们。在与他们交换故事的过程中,我与自己没能做到的和曾经努力过的可能性相遇,并感动于人们是如何执拗地对激烈的情绪做出反应,又如此不懈地复原自己。无论各自的生活多么不同,但我们确定无疑地共享了同样的情绪。
一切所谓的“异常”,都无法也不可能被归咎于某个特定的成因。正如我们无法从化合物中分辨出形成它的物质,人的心理构成并非点对点的因果关系,而是一连串的交互反应:因果互为因果,此层影响彼层。忧郁种下自省的种子,蜜蜂们深入地思考、感受、探索,从而在心里搭建出一个独立运转的宇宙。在那里,外人眼中看来不正常的因素尽数得到解释。
《蜜蜂》是为了敲击人们对这一群体的成见,而非提供插图式的印证:他是一个人,不是一类人;他不能被社会演练出的公式所预期。并不是每个人都坚强,一些人总是更加敏感。尘埃落下,有人挥手弹开,认为不值一提;有人将它们全部吸收,布满身体。在不够强壮的时候,蜜蜂们选择这样一种解决方法,以面对生活中的坎坷。
我希望作品第一眼看上去是关于秘密和情绪的,同时它富有揭示性的信息,像是为无法回答的问题所列的目录。
观者始终无法亲面蜜蜂的表达,他们看到的只是照片,读到的只是字。怎样才是对人之为人的精彩概括?我对这种展现有一种责任感。
“Bees”
They left their lives in the very wounds they had created for themselves.
- Virgil (Roman poet, 70BC – 19BC)
To jeopardize existence for existence itself: “Bees” recorded a marginalized group of people in China, who, faced with chaos, violence, alienation and irredeemable losses in life, feels propelled to leave physical traces and markings on their bodies, in order to preserve and corroborate a pure and sensitive mind from within. In 2010, having “The Bearable”(a photo series documenting my own self-infliction in the past 4 years) as my passport, I had the opportunity to develop a close relationship with some of these obstinate souls – the bees. During the process of exchanging secrets with them, I crossed path with certain possibilities that were formerly unachieved but towards which I had struggled greatly in my personal life. I’m struck by the unyielding actions and reactions they carry on with while encountering sudden and acute emotional fluxes, and moved by the recurrent effort they make to recover themselves afterwards. No matter how different our lives seem to be, we undoubtedly shared common psychological experiences.
Nothing named “abnormal” could be attributed to a certain definite cause. Just like how it is impossible to compartmentalize a chemical compound to identify its original constituents, our psychic is indivisible, the make-up of which consists in a network of chain reactions, instead of linear relationships. Cause and effect interact both as cause and as effect; One level of reactions closely influence another. Depression plants the seed of introspection. The bees take it in; They reason it, embrace it and explore it, forming an isolated universe in their own minds. These self-sustained universes contain every reason that explains the “abnormality” that no one who lacks in common experiences could decode.
I intend my photographs to inquire upon society’s prejudice and preconception towards this community, and not to become illustrations or pictorial evidence for the topic at hand: every subject is an individual, not just “one of them” – his or her life cannot be predicted or dictated by any constructed social code or notion. Not everyone is strong, some are just naturally more sensitive. When the dust settles, some wave their hands and walk away, and others soak it up and digest it. When they feel weak, the bees come up with a rather alternative solution to carry them through the hardships.
I hope a first glance of my work conveys the idea of secrecy and sentiments, under which lies information awaiting exposure and recognition: like an index page pointing towards all the unanswered questions. The viewers will never be in direct communication with these bees, unfortunately. They can only see the images and read the words. What is the best way to summarize the reason for our existence? After all, we are only human. I feel responsible to be part of this dialogue.
website: http://www.zheis.com/
weibo: http://t.sina.com.cn/zheis
All images © 陈哲 Zhe Chen
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