在靜待著M+博物館的開幕，期待著我的作品在店內展示的模樣，又傳來更有趣的合作機緣 —— 是為藏品作者之一的香港藝術家謝淑婷（Sara Tse ）創作聯乘的Trans-fashion再生時尚品。
I was quietly looking forward to M+’s opening and the display of my works in its store, when an even more interesting collaboration opportunity came along – to create “Trans-fashion” works in a crossover with one of the creators of the museum collection, Hong Kong artist Sara Tse.
這天到Sara的工作室挑選她的舊衣物和商談創作方向，探頭看見雪白柔弱的衣物、蕾絲、樹葉、郵票⋯⋯問准Sara後，戰戰兢兢地觸摸，才發現是堅硬的陶瓷。媽媽的舊衣、女兒的嬰兒裙，經過陶漿封存和1260度高溫燃燒後，去掉了顏色和氣味，卻封存了時光中的記憶和小秘密。
Sara靦腆地笑著從《母親》（My Mother）開始訴說她的藝術故事。媽媽年少時從馬來西亞到中國讀書，誰知因政治局勢從此不能回國，所以媽媽對有關故鄉的短短時光、所有物件都珍而重之。婆婆送給孫兒的每一張金手鐲的單據、1955年由廣州前往星加坡住了一晚的旅館收據⋯⋯這些回憶都傳承到Sara的手上，化成作品的一部分。
Coming into Sara’s studio today to choose old clothes and discuss creative direction, I looked in and saw such soft, snowy clothes, lace, leaves, postage stamps… With her consent, I touched them hesitantly, only to realise that they were hard ceramics. A mother’s old clothes and a daughter’s infant dresses, preserved in clay slip and fired in 1260 degrees of high heat, were rid of all colours and odours, yet sealed in with all the memories and secrets of moments past.
Smiling timidly, Sara began with My Mother to recount the story of her art. Sara’s mother came to China from Malaysia to study when she was young, but was unable to return home thereafter under the political circumstances then. As such, her mother cherished the brief time she had had in her home country and everything about it. The receipts for every gold bracelet given by the grandmother to the grandchild, the receipt for one night’s hostel stay on a trip from Guangzhou to Singapore in 1955… these memories passed on to Sara and became part of the work.
「其實我真係好鐘意食生命麵包㗎！」
牆上掛著一件用「生命麵包」的包裝來縫製的恤衫，細緻得連嘜頭也是從包裝紙剪下來。「生命麵包」象徵著擁抱夢想的旅程，也為她揭開了一節節的生死教育課。當時Sara的節儉生活正是為了準備出國攻讀碩士，到美國尋找合適的學校後，回來打開家門，媽媽的第一句話:「你是誰？」
“I actually really like eating Life Bread!”
On the wall hung a shirt sewn with Life Bread packaging, all done so meticulously that even the shirt label was extracted from the packaging. Life Bread symbolises a journey in pursuit of a dream, but also unfolded for Sara many a lesson of life and death. At the time, Sara led a thrifty lifestyle to prepare for a Master’s degree abroad. After a trip to the US to find the right school, she came home to the first words from her mother, “Who are you?”
「我想籍著《母親》的展覽，用媽媽的衣服做陶，仿造了舊家的場景，放置了她的車衣機、衣物、衣櫃⋯⋯希望喚醒母親的記憶。」為了照顧患上了腦退化症的媽媽，她放棄了進修的機會，直至5年後，媽媽已完全記不起Sara。「在無助得醫生也幫不了多少時，我用媽媽的舊衣做陶瓷，是一種釋懷，像在傳遞祝福。有些人會做神像，而我就做陶瓷來灌注力量。」
當時在選擇進修和照顧媽媽之間抉擇，哥哥一家竟説不能和媽媽同住，令Sara很失望。同一時間，她獲得「法國五月」的贊助，到巴黎一個月，她想到透過藝術創作回憶起和哥哥最好的時光，來化解心裡的怨憤，用上了從友人拿來的舊電氈，縫製了一輛三輪車。
“With the exhibition of My Mother, I wanted to make ceramics with my mother’s clothes. I recreated the set-up of the old house and placed in it her sewing machine, clothes, wardrobe… hoping to awaken her memories.” To take care of her dementia-stricken mother, Sara gave up on the chance for further studies, until 5 years later, when her mother lost memory of her completely. “In desperate times when even doctors could not help much, I made ceramics with my mother’s old clothes. It was a catharsis of sorts, like sending blessings. Some people make sacred statues, while I make ceramics to channel power.”
As she was choosing between pursuing further studies and caring for her mother, her brother informed her that their mother could not stay with his family. Sara was greatly disappointed. At the same time, she received Le French May’s support to spend a month in Paris. She thought of using art-making to reminisce her best memories with her brother, and to resolve the enmity in her heart. Using an old electric blanket brought over by a friend, she sewed a tricycle.
「當時縫下縫下睡著了，夢見我和哥哥回到童年，還一起填補了小時候的一些缺陷，睡醒後勁開心，也開始諒解他的處境，情緒也釋放了。現實中一些難以承受的事，在我而言，往往都能透過創作來化解。」另外同一塊布也縫了小時候常抱著的熊公仔，裁剪後的毛氈留下一個個不規則的洞。「剪去了的部分好像完全地消失了，但那些洞也是在形容著同一件事，我把裁剪後的毛氈當作一幅畫來展出，意念就像我做陶瓷。」
“At the time, as I sewed stitch after stitch, I fell asleep and dreamt of my brother and I being transported back to our childhood. We even fixed some childhood failings together. I woke up feeling tremendously happy. I could begin to empathise with him in his circumstance and was relieved too. To me, what is unbearable in life can always be resolved through the act of creation somehow.” The same fabric was also stitched into a teddy bear that she always held onto when she was small. The cutting left specks of irregular holes on the blanket, “Though the parts that were cut away seem to have disappeared completely, the holes illustrate the same things. I displayed the blanket after the cuts like a piece of painting, the idea of it being akin to my ceramics creation process.”
物質消失了，記憶不會隨之而去，或會被流傳下去，鋼琴上繞著紅線的鐵箱是Sara從墨爾本的跳蚤市場買回來的，裡面的幻燈片每一塊都寫上地點，印度、馬塞、瑞士⋯⋯或名字或節慶，可想像是來自一位時尚女子於1957-58年間的遊歷。把幻燈片冲曬成相片後，再穿針引線，加上陶瓷咕臣，便演變成Sara的故事。
When matters fade away, memories do not drift off along with them, but may be passed on. Atop a piano was a metal box entangled with red threads, bought by Sara from a flea market in Melbourne. On each slide within the box was written a location, like India, Marseille, Switzerland… or a name or a festive event, quite possibly the adventures of a fashionable lady between the years of 1957 and 1958. The slides were then developed into photos, embroidered and affixed with ceramic cushions, thus transformed into Sara’s narratives.
《時間旅人》（Time Traveller）是《母親》的延續，這次還用上從一對老夫婦家裡回收來的舊傢俬，加上陶瓷衣物展現50年代女性的生活，這個展覽輾轉從Louis Vuitton到Art Basel，最後給M+收藏了。在展館開幕之前，可以先到香港藝術館的「不是時裝店」欣賞Sara剛柔並重的回憶陶藝。
Time Traveller is an extension of My Mother, this time round also making use of old furniture retrieved from an old couple’s home and ceramic clothes that display the lives of women in the 50s. This exhibition was in turn presented by Louis Vuitton and then Art Basel, and finally collected by M+. Before the opening of the museum, you may visit NOT a fashion store! at the Hong Kong Museum of Art to see Sara’s strong yet tender ceramics of memories.
小時候常坐在車衣機旁，放上玩具熊伴著媽媽工作，Sara的作品不難找到針線，她不愛按步就班，卻能自學製作，她也希望透過她的Clayplay教室將惜物和愛手藝的意念傳承給下一代，鼓勵一對兒女Tiger和Sandra再造舊物， 她更常為過程拍片和分享開去。
As a child, Sara would often sit by the sewing machine, placing a teddy bear on the side, to accompany her mother at work. It is not hard to find needlework in Sara’s works. She is not keen on following steps, but is able to learn and create by herself. She also hopes to pass on the ideas of frugality and the love of crafts to the next generation through the Clayplay workshops and encourages her children Tiger and Sandra to upcycle obsolete items. She would often film and share the process on YouTube too.
Sara:「藝術可成為信念和愛的載體，代代相傳，作為憑藉撫慰心靈，穿越時空引起共鳴。」
很期待我們的回憶碎片分解後再組合成新的個性，M+見。
“Art can become the medium for beliefs and love to pass on for generations, offering consolations to souls and resonating beyond time and space,” said Sara.
I look forward to seeing our memory fragments disintegrate and form new characters. See you in M+.
