兩天前在通勤路上，我乘坐的巴士駛過每天必經的公路，旁邊就是大海，對岸和我身處的這邊同樣是高樓，就像是兩排高樓之間的一條河那樣。看著海的我忽然冒出一個想法：如果這些高樓都變成巨石，那是否會有相同於我們站在大海面前、爬山登頂後所能看見的群山延綿，那種大自然帶給我們的平靜或者是震撼。所以是我們對「城市」的覺知，拿走了我們的感覺嗎？「我想在這裡保留有自己的感覺。」我心裡暗忖。
藝術家方琛宇的作品〈Afternoons〉就那麼恰恰地，讓我看見這些不該被抽掉的人的觸覺。「在柏林生活的時候曾住在一個靜謐的社區，社區遠離市中心，令人放慢步伐，專注周圍的景物。沒有任何特別的事情發生，我只有等待日光照射到書檯上，看它鬆軟地滑過。」百無聊賴的時光被他拍下，記錄了光的變化，也記錄了渺小而寧靜、即便不曾被注視也依然日復日發生的日常。
他把這輯照片印成了兩冊、共20本小書，並包覆在以感光相紙製成的書袋內。只有些微差別的日照面相，讓人得悉了時間流動，也得悉了萬事萬物的永恆變幻。
方琛宇，1985年生，香港當代藝術家，目前在韓國首爾與安城居住和工作。他的創作大多與時間和空間有關，主要探索城市生活與人際互動的微細關係，反思社會上對生活的各種既有價值觀是否那樣牢不可破，尤其是香港這種高密度城市。並在過程中反芻自身，回頭了解自己。
Two days ago, when riding on a bus passing by the same old highway along the waterfront, I looked out of the window over the vast harbor. Sandwiched between the lines of skyscrapers along the two shorelines, the harbor just appeared like a river. A wild imagination suddenly flashed into my mind — if these are gigantic rocks instead of skyscrapers, and if I got to climb up to the top of one, would I get either the sense of tranquility or an awe at the grandeur of nature, just the same way I do when I stand in front of a vast ocean or adore a long stretch of mountain? Are we too assimilated into the “city” and slowly losing our own sensibility? At that moment, I told myself, “I wish to preserve my own feelings.”
Afternoons by Silas Fong precisely reveals to me the sensibilities that are imprudently erased by city life. “During my days in Berlin, I used to live in a quiet neighborhood rather far away from the city center. I was allowed to slow down my pace of life and enjoy the surrounding scenery. Days went by without any remarkable happenings; all I did was sitting in front of my desk to wait for the sunbeam to slide through.” He documented the seemingly tedious everyday life. It is at the same time a documentation of the changes of light, as well as the silent, insignificant and repetitive routines.
Fong archived the photos into two volumes that consist altogether 20 small books, which are wrapped in bags made of light-sensitive photographic paper. The subtle difference of light beams as photographed reminds the audience of the flow of time, and the ever-changing nature of our world.
Silas Fong (b. 1985) is a contemporary artist from Hong Kong who currently resides and works in both Seoul and Anseong in Korea. Using time and space as a conceptual theme, Fong’s works mainly explore the intimate relationship between life in metropolis and human interaction, and hence reexamine the rigidity of the values imposed by our society upon us. Focusing on the ideology of high-density cities like Hong Kong, Fong endeavors to reflect on the notion of an individual.
