The decorative use of wire in southern Africa dates back hundreds of years. But modernization actually brought communication and a whole new material, in the form of telephone wire. Rural to urban migration meant that newfound industrial materials started to replace hard-to-come-by natural grasses.
使用線來裝飾在非洲南部 已經有數百年的歷史. 現代化不止為我們帶來通訊 還有電話線一類的新材料. 農村人口向城市遷移意味著新發現的工業原料 開始取代得來不易的天然草類材質.
So, here you can see the change from use -- starting to use contemporary materials. These pieces date back from the '40s to the late '50s. In the '90s, my interest and passion for transitional art forms led me to a new form, which came from a squatter camp outside Durban.
在這裡你可以看到材料的改變 開始使用現代的材料 這些作品是40年代到50年代末 在九十年代,我對過渡形式藝術的興趣和熱情, 帶我找到一個新的(編織)樣式, 這樣式是來自德班外圍的一個貧民區。
And I got the opportunity to start working with this community at that point, and started developing, really, and mentoring them in terms of scale, in terms of the design. And the project soon grew from five to 50 weavers in about a year. Soon we had outgrown the scrap yards, what they could provide, so we coerced a wire manufacturer to help us, and not only to supply the materials on bobbins, but to produce to our color specifications.
而且我得到了機會和這個社區合作, 並由此開始發展, 並在規模和設計方面給他們指導。 編織人員在一年之間從五個增長到五十個 很快地,我們的規模已經把他們提供的廢料都用完了 所以我們被迫向電線製造商求助, 不僅要他們提供綫料, 還請他們生產我們要的顏色。
At the same time, I was thinking, well, there's lots of possibility here to produce contemporary products, away from the ethnic, a little bit more contemporary. So I developed a whole range around -- mass-produced range -- that obviously fitted into a much higher-end decor market that could be exported and also service our local market.
同時,我在想 這裡有生產現代產品的商機, 小一點民族色彩,多一點現代化. 因此,我制定了一系列大規模的生產, 顯然地這更合高級裝飾市場的口味, 可以出口及賣給本地市場.
We started experimenting, as you can see, in terms of shapes, forms. The scale became very important, and it's become our pet project. It's successful, it's been running for 12 years. And we supply the Conran shops, and Donna Karan, and so it's kind of great.
你可以看到我們開始實驗,在形狀,形式上, 計劃的規模也開始大了起來 它已經成為我們的最愛產品,十分成功 這計劃已經運作12年了,我們還供應給Conran商店, 和Donna Karan, 算是很成功.
This is our group, our main group of weavers. They come on a weekly basis to Durban. They all have bank accounts. They've all moved back to the rural area where they came from. It's a weekly turnaround of production. This is the community that I originally showed you the slide of. And that's also modernized today, and it's supporting work for 300 weavers. And the rest says it all.
這是我們的小組,我們的主要編織人員。 他們每週到德班來 他們都有銀行帳戶。 他們都遷回自己的農村家鄉. 這是每週一次的生產過程。 這是我一開始用幻燈片顯示過的社區. 在今天也現代化了, 我們現在提供300名織工就業職位. 最後這張投影片説明了一切.(參加這個編織計劃改變了我的一生)
Thank you very much. (Applause)
非常感謝。 (鼓掌)