Let's talk about how the narrative of Africa is being told, and who is doing the telling. I want to share with you the selection of work by contemporary artists from Africa and its diaspora. I love this art. I find it beautiful and inspiring and thrilling, and I really hope I am able to pique your interest.
咱們來談談非洲的故事 是怎麼被訴說的, 以及是由誰來訴說的。 我想要和各位分享來自非洲 及離鄉背井的當代藝術家的作品集。 我愛這件藝術品。 我覺得它很美麗、 鼓舞人心、令人興奮, 我真的很希望我能激起你們的興趣。
I want to share something about myself and why art matters to me. I'm the daughter of an artist, so that means that growing up, I had the chance to see my father do artwork in his studio. My home was surrounded by art, and I had an early art education, being dragged to museums and exhibitions over the summer holidays. What I did not understand, really, at the time, is that this also gave me an early understanding about why art is important, how to look at it, how to understand it, but also how to love it. So art matters to me on a personal level, and not only because it's beautiful and inspiring and thrilling, but because art tells powerful stories. All these artists have stories to tell you about what it means to be African, stories that tell you and touches about our African identity, but also stories that tell us about who we are as Africans, but also stories that tell us about our complex history.
我想要分享關於我自己的事, 以及為何藝術對我這麼重要。 我是藝術家的女兒, 那意味著,成長過程中, 我有機會看我父親 在他的工作室裡創作藝術。 我的家中都是藝術品, 我很早就接受到藝術教育, 夏天假期我會被拉去 參觀博物館和展覽。 那時,其實我並不了解, 這也讓我很早就學到 為什麼藝術是很重要的、 如何去看藝術、 如何去了解藝術,及如何去愛藝術。 對我個人而言,藝術是重要的, 不單單是因為它很美麗、 鼓舞人心、令人興奮, 也因為藝術能夠訴說強大的故事。 所有這些藝術家都有故事要告訴你, 訴說身為非洲人之意義的故事, 訴說能讓你了解接觸 我們非洲身分的故事, 也訴說關於我們非洲人 是什麼人的故事、 關於我們複雜歷史的故事。
So how can art tell you powerful stories? I want to share with you this series by Senegalese artist Omar Victor Diop. This is a series of self-portraits, and the artist in this particular series is focusing on the representation of Africans in art history between the 15th to the 19th century. I want to show you how, with one image, Diop is able to touch on our African identity, on the politics of representation, but also on our social value system.
所以,藝術如何能 向你訴說強大的故事? 我想要和你們分享這系列作品, 作者是塞內加爾藝術家 奧馬爾.維克多.迪奧普。 這是一系列的自畫像, 在這獨特系列中的藝術家, 把焦點放在十五到十九世紀藝術史上 關於非洲人的畫像。 我想讓各位看看,迪奧普是如何 用影像來觸及我們的非洲身分、 涉及再現政治, 以及我們的社會價值系統。
In this particular self-portrait, Diop is actually referencing another portrait by Anne-Louis Girodet. This picture is doing a portrait of Jean-Baptiste Belley. Jean-Baptiste Belley was a native of Senegal, a former slave of Haiti, but during his lifetime, he also was elected to represent the colony at the third government of the French Revolution, and he advocated strongly for the abolition of slavery. What is very smart and clever about Diop here is that he's going back to history. He's reclaiming this figure by restaging this beautiful royal blue uniform, where he is restaging also the pose, and he's doing that to actually underline the issues that are still impacting individuals of color today. There was nothing special about this very typical political portrait of the time, except that for the first time, an individual of color, in that case, Jean-Baptiste Belley, was actually named and acknowledged in a painting. What Diop is adding to this picture is this crucial element, which is the football under his arm, and by doing that, Diop is actually touching at our hero worship culture of African football stars, who unfortunately, despite their fame, their immense talent, and their royalty status, they are still invisible. Diop is asking us to dig deeper, to go beyond history and what has been written, and, basically, see how it still influences and impacts us in the present.
在這幅特別的自畫像中, 迪奧普其實是參考安-路易.吉羅代 創作的另一幅自畫像。 這幅畫是在描繪尚-巴提斯特.貝利。 尚-巴提斯特.貝利是塞內加爾原住民, 曾是海地的奴隸, 但在他的一生中, 他也被選出來代表殖民地, 當時是法國革命的第三個政府執政, 他強烈提倡要廢除奴隸制度。 迪奧普非常聰明且精明的地方在於, 他回到過去的歷史。 他在重新利用這個人物, 利用的方式是重新呈現 這漂亮的皇家藍色制服, 同時他也重新呈現這個姿勢, 他這麼做的目的其實是要強調那些 現今仍然會影響到有色人種的議題。 在那個時代, 這種政治畫像非常典型, 沒有什麼特別的, 除了一點,這是第一次, 有一位有名字且被認可的有色人種 出現在畫作中, 也就是尚-巴提斯特.貝利。 迪奧普在這幅畫中 加上了一個關鍵元素, 也就是手臂下面的足球, 迪奧普這麼做, 目的是要觸及我們對非洲足球員的 英雄崇拜文化, 很不幸的,那些足球員雖然很有名、 非常有才華,還有皇家身分, 但他們仍然是不被看見的。 迪奧普在要求我們挖深一點, 超越歷史以及書面的記錄, 去探究現今它如何 繼續影響和衝擊我們。
I want to share this other beautiful series called "Kesh Angels," by artist Hassan Hajjaj. So in this particular series, the artist is really pushing on the boundaries of stereotype and cliché. Hassan Hajjaj is a friend, and honestly, I admire him dearly, but this particular series is talking to me directly as a Muslim woman. I experience this all the time, where, you know, people have a lot of expectations, religious ones and cultural ones, but what I love about this artist is that he's putting all this on its head. He's actually challenging every representation of Muslim, Arabic women that there is. Hassan Hajjaj is a child of the diaspora. He grew up in Morocco amongst bright logo goods, you know, counterfeit originals being sold at the souks. So to see those symbols representing in his work a celebration of the global culture, a critic of the global urban culture, is no surprise, but really at the heart of his work is his desire of a nuanced representation. He wants us to interrupt ourselves and all the perception that we might have on people, on a culture, and on environment.
我還想分享另一個美麗的系列, 叫做「長髮天使」, 創作者是哈山.哈查吉。 在這個系列當中, 藝術家真的在挑戰刻板印象 和老式作風的極限。 哈山.哈查吉是我的朋友, 老實說,我非常欣賞他, 但這個系列,直接在對著 身為穆斯林女性的我傳達訊息。 我總是在經歷這類狀況, 人們有很多的期望, 宗教、文化上的期望, 但,我之所以很喜歡這位藝術家, 是因為他把焦點都放在頭部, 他在挑戰每一種他能夠看到的對於 穆斯林、阿拉伯女性的表現方式。 哈山.哈查吉是離鄉背井者的孩子。 他在摩洛哥一堆 商標明亮的商品中長大, 你們知道的,在露天市場中 銷售的盜版貨。 所以,看到他的作品中有些象徵, 如對於全球文化的讚頌、 對於全球都市文化的批評, 並不讓人意外, 但,他作品的核心,是他想要 做出有細微差異之表現的慾望。 他希望我們能打斷自己, 以及我們可能擁有的所有感知, 對於人、對於文化, 以及對於環境的感知。
And for example, this particular picture, your common association would be, you know, certain street brand for a certain Western distinctive consumer. Well, he mashes it all up, where he is daring to imagine a female biker culture where actually Chanel or Louis Vuitton is designing the djellaba, and Nike, the babouche, and this is actually the standard uniform. What I love about the women in "Kesh Angels" is that they are able to hold your gaze. We are completely participating in the image, but they are the one inviting us in, and on their own terms.
舉例來說, 針對這張圖,常見的聯想會是, 某種街頭品牌,對象是 某種西方的特殊消費者。 嗯,他把一切都搗亂, 他敢於想像一個女性騎士的文化, 而香奈兒或路易威登 卻還在設計阿拉伯寬長袍, 而耐吉在設計拖鞋, 這其實就是標準制服。 對於「長髮天使」中的女人, 我喜愛的一點是 她們能夠抓住你的視線。 我們完完全全參與在圖像中, 但,是她們是根據她們的條件 邀請我們進入的。
Hassan Hajjaj's "Kesh Angels" or "Project Diaspora" by Omar Victor Diop
哈山.哈查吉的「長髮天使」
offer me two strong examples why art is so instrumental. It is instrumental as it really inspires us to ask questions, but it is also instrumental because it ignites change. Seeing diversity in race and ethnicity in contemporary art is the only way that we'll see changes in the art industry, but also for the relations between Africa and the Western canon. How we will participate in all this is really up to us. There's a lot of progress to be made, and honestly, we still need to support stronger voices, as they are the ones shaking things up and bringing new perspective.
或奧馬爾.維克多.迪奧普的 「離鄉背井計畫」, 是兩個很有力的例子,讓我說明 為何藝術如此能被當作工具手段。 它能被當作工具手段, 因為它能鼓舞我們去問問題, 另一個原因則是因為它能激起改變。 在當代藝術中看到種族及人種多樣性 是我們能看到藝術產業中 有所改變的唯一方式, 同時也是為了非洲和西方的 重要藝術家及作品之間的關係。 我們要如何參與其中, 由我們自己決定。 還有很多的進展需要去做, 且,老實說,我們還 需要支持更強大的聲音, 因為是這些聲音在 造成撼動、帶來新觀點。
I want to share this beautiful old painting by younger emerging artist Kudzanai-Violet Hwami. For me, when I see her work, it really represents freedom. Hwami has fantastic takes on what it means to be an African and an African life. She has lived in three different countries: Zimbabwe, South Africa and Britain, and therefore has been influenced by a multitude of layers of communities and cultures, from LGBT to eco to Xhosa to emo to British cultures. And as she says herself, the beauty of being a child of the diaspora is really being able to reinvent ourselves and what it means to be African.
我想要分享這幅美麗的老畫作, 作者是位較年輕的新興藝術家, 庫札奈-凡爾雷特.哈瓦米。 對我而言,當我看到她的作品, 它真正呈現的是自由。 哈瓦米對於身為非洲人的意義, 以及非洲生活的意義, 有著很了不起的看法。 她曾經住過三個不同的國家: 辛巴威、南非,和英國, 因此,她受到很多不同層次的 社群和文化所影響, 從多元性傾向、到生態、到科薩人、 到情緒搖滾、到英國文化。 如她自己所言, 身為離鄉背井者的孩子, 最美好的就是能夠重新改造自己, 改造身為非洲人的意義。
I want to leave you with this powerful piece by South African artist Lawrence Lemaoana. Lawrence Lemaoana also criticized the influence of the media on our moral consciousness, and he's doing that by using those fabrics like banners in political demonstrations, where he's asking us to reclaim our voices. I believe in the transformative power of art, as it is our only way to paint a nuanced image of Africa, but also its diaspora, one that will be painted by its artists and its cultural producers with their radical but also very unique view of seeing the world and their place in it. It is really through art that we can regain our sense of agency and empowerment. It is through art that we can really tell our own story. So like Lawrence Lemaoana says, the power is ours.
我想留給各位一件強大的作品, 作者是南非藝術家羅倫斯.雷莫納。 羅倫斯.雷莫納也批判 媒體對於我們道德意識的影響, 他的做法是採用 政治示威布條的布料, 他請我們要重新找回我們的聲音。 我相信藝術有著帶來轉變的力量, 因為若要繪製出具細微差別之 非洲形像以及其離鄉背井者, 它是唯一的方式, 由非洲的藝術家和非洲的 文化製造者來繪製, 他們用極端卻也獨特的觀點來看世界 及他們在世界中的位置。 透過藝術,我們可以重新取回 主動性和增強的權力; 透過藝術,我們能夠 說出我們自己的故事。 所以,如羅倫斯.雷莫納 所說的,力量是我們的。
Thank you.
謝謝你們。
(Applause)
(掌聲)