An unconventional therapy

The three apples outside of the market

我會莫名被各種蘋果形狀的東西吸引,它們必然是立體的,然後我再細想……梨子、檸檬、草莓、橘子,好像沒有一種如它同樣勾起我的興趣。是被「一日一蘋果」的廣告對白長久薰陶的緣故、或是念宗教小學時常讀到的禁果故事、或只是因為它是最常吃到的水果嗎?關於蘋果的記憶像是如此無處不在。

I have an unexplainable obsession with apple shape; Does it have to do with its three-dimensional property? I then keep on pondering… pear, lemon, strawberry or tangerine, these fruits just never impressed me the same way. Did the fascination come from the brainwashing proverb “an apple a day”? Perhaps it could be the story of the forbidden fruit that I learned in my religious primary school? Or maybe it is simply because apple is the most common fruit? Memory of apple has such an omnipresence.

以陶瓷為主要素材的日本設計品牌ttyokzk ceramic design,其理念是製作實用而富趣味的生活用品,好像在說:「來!有趣地生活吧!」這顆掌心大小的蘋果糖盅,圓潤的線條連成五角形狀,發想自蘋果花的五瓣,以及切開蘋果後的種子形狀。溫順的乳白色,頂端露出那一小顆蘋果蒂,是放在裡頭的木質小匙。把蘋果掰開後會看到上半部分是個呈碗狀內彎的蓋子,使用後只要把木匙放在盅內然後合上蓋子,不用特地對準小孔,木匙便會沿著弧線滑進孔內。不只是用來放砂糖,如若盛載甜點或凍湯,也會是餐桌上的一道美好風景啊。

ttyokzk ceramic design is a Japanese design brand that specializes in ceramic. The brand’s motto is to design playful daily necessities that seem to have an underlying statement saying, “Hey! Let’s live a playful life!”. This palm-sized sugar pot is roundly curved into a pentagonal shape which is inspired by the five petals of apple flowers, as well as the form of its seeds. Milky white in color, the design cleverly features the tip of the little wooden spoon as the stem of the apple. When lifting up the dome-shaped lid of the pot, it somehow feels like cutting open the apple. After serving, you can simply put the lid back with ease as the spoon would slide along the curve of the “dome” back to its original hole. The sugar pot does not need to be confined to being a container for sugar, it could also be a beautiful utensil for serving dessert or soup.

在上環古物店貘記看到過,在千姿百態的杯盤之間,擱著這一大一小的木蘋果,看起來格外溫婉、樸實。它們來自瑞典,經人手將樺木雕刻打磨成眼前般柔滑。店主說它「有一種令人安靜的魔力」而讓我想起有個畫面在童年時出現過,長輩會在嬰兒胸口上放一小包帶有輕微重量、由緞布織成的方形小袋,裡面可能裝了一小塊翠玉或護身符之類的物件,相信能令嬰兒睡得香甜,不做惡夢。原理就像當我們受驚時會下意識用手拍拍心口,輕輕的一個小動作能讓安定驅走驚慌吧。這兩顆蘋果大概也是如此的存在。

In the vintage shop Makee in Sheung Wan, I once came across a pair of Swedish-made wooden apples of different sizes. They were placed amidst a bunch of glamourous tablewares which make the apples look exceptionally mellow and rustic by contrast. Hand carved from birchwood and polished to a perfect smoothness, the apples possess a “magical calming power”, as coined by the shop owner. This very much resembles how in the old days where senior members of the family used to hang around the neck of an infant a little woven bag, in which contained a tiny piece of jade or an amulet. Legend says this can keep infants from bad dreams. This somehow works similarly to how we would pat our chest with our hands when being frightened. Small gestures like this have a soothing power; these two wooden apples perhaps carry the same charm.

像經歷會在人生不斷刻出新的記號,她的作品是為了讓人不要遺忘生命裡重要的東西。日本的木雕藝術家臼田香織喜以人和動物為主題,沒有刻意的打磨,而保留下刀時的不平坦。在雕刻前,她習慣先預想需要削去的部分,假如削多了,就找一塊大小適合的補上:「這讓我理解到生活也是類似的一回事」。她在2009年的作品「蘋果(りんご)」,以平拍方式紀錄過程。在照片裡看起來是多餘的、剩下了的木屑,其實也都是組成這顆蘋果的必然存在。曾歷經日本311大地震的她,重新思考藝術在社會上的存在意義為何,也把自身生活的失序與對遇難者的悼念放進後來的作品裡。始終相信藝術有改變人心的力量,有時候就是這些力量使人前行,她祈許自己能做到這樣就夠了。

Throughout one’s life, different events would leave new traces; Kaori Usuda’s works also attempt to remind people not to forget the important elements of life. This wood sculptor loves to use human and animals as her themes. The works are free from polish, the sculptor rather deliberately retains the uneven carve marks on her works. Before working on the sculpture, she usually begins with conjuring up the portion that needs to be carved out. If she has carved too much, she would fetch a wood piece of similar size to repair. “This makes me realize how life more or less follows the same logic”. In 2009, she recorded the production process of her work Apple(りんご)in real time. The wood chips appear redundant and useless as captured by the photos, but they were essential to the creation of the apple. As a survivor of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake, she re-examined the existential meaning of art in society. Her works carry the feeling of disorientation that haunts herself, as well as her grieve over the victims. Usuda always believes in the power of art in changing people, and in giving people strength to move on; and these, are what greatest ambition.

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