澳門自2007年參加威尼斯國際藝術雙年展以來，都是由澳門藝術博物館邀約藝術家參與的，今年公開徵集，且須為本地藝術家與策展人的合作，這無疑為廣大的藝術工作者帶來了進擊的機會。
我和在澳門成長的陶瓷藝術家劉慧德合作參展，我們在紐約的美國華人博物館認識，我在那裡看的第一個展覽便是她參與創作的：她和另一位藝術家以陶瓷創作出不同的中國地方菜，頗為打破了一些美國人認為中國菜只是一種菜系的固有印象。畫廊中央，陶瓷製作的各式佳餚擺滿了一桌，牆上則放映著美國各地華人廚師的口述歷史，味覺、記憶，文化與歷史共冶一爐──現在想來，這展覽既讓我認識了慧德，也讓我開始思考，藝術怎麼幫我們講述地方的故事。
決定合作就澳門館提案後，我們討論了各種感興趣的議題，但很快便決定了，以澳門文化評論人李展鵬先生的新書《隱形澳門》作為發想與對話的文本之一。因為那也如同在與我們自己、與我們的成長經歷對話。由於殖民歷史與地緣政治等因素，澳門人常常享有一種特殊的國際與地區身份，而且由於近二十年博彩業發展帶來爆發性的經濟增長，澳門的名字亦更多地出現在國際視野之中。然而，在這種種特殊的身份與跨越式的發展中，澳門缺少的、或者還不夠多的是澳門人自己的聲音。從日常生活的閒談，到政治、經濟、學術、文化層面上交流合作，澳門人在地區與國際交流中都常常處於一種失語、或被代言的狀態，因此我們愈是在場，便愈是突顯我們的隱形──我慢慢地確認到，我們需要一種自我陳述的能力，與自己也與外界進行對話。
慧德的作品擁有的正是這樣的能量。可能與我的表述剛剛相反，她很少進行文字語言上的自我陳述，作品便是她自我陳述的媒介；她常跟我說，她的作品比她更聰明。慧德與我都離開了自己的家鄉澳門，我們常常會一起懷舊：我們各自上過的學，參加過的比賽，看過的香港電影等等。策展期間，社交媒體上傳來消息，棲居在澳門二龍喉公園三十多年、陪伴許多澳門人成長的黑熊BoBo逝世，這些都翻動着我們的情緒與記憶，並且內化到創作與展覽中，作品成為記憶與情感的載體，像老者的遊吟。
慧德在拿懷舊來說事，以藝術創作來消解她的懷舊之情，同時她也是在審視自己的懷舊。她曾與我分享一篇在美俄國學者斯維持蘭娜．博依姆（Svetlana Boym）的文章，題為《懷舊及其不滿》（Nostalgia and Its Discontents），博依姆界定了兩種懷舊，一種是絕對的懷舊，人只想回到一個過去的時空中；另一種叫自省式的懷舊，人在往後看的時候，其實是因為體認到當下的缺失，想從過去中尋求前行的方法，所以它其實是一種向前看的懷舊。慧德說，博依姆的文章讓她理解了自己的懷舊，而這後一種的、反思性的懷舊，正是這次展覽想傳遞的，也是澳門人可以與世界共享的。
新生代澳門人變得懷舊，這可以變成一種消極排他的社會情緒，也可以是孕育出更反思性的地方意識與公民社會構建。期待這場展覽伴隨的，會是澳門人對自身文化身份、對澳門的歷史與未來的未竟探索。
原載於 C2文創誌 第三十三期
Since Macao’s joining in La Biennale di Venezia in 2007, the Macao Museum of Art has been inviting local artists to participate in this international art fiesta. All the invited artists and curators are local talents from Macao. It provides a great opportunity for local artists to gain more access to resources in the art world.
I partnered with local ceramic artist Heidi Lau and participated in the exhibition. We originally met at the Museum of Chinese in America in New York. She was a co-creator of the first exhibition I went and saw there. Heidi and another artist created Chinese cuisines with ceramic to break the stereotype that believes there is only one type of Chinese cuisine. At the centre of the gallery, ceramic models of different Chinese dishes were set up on a big table. On the wall, a documentary that featured stories from Chinese cooks from different parts of the U.S. was playing. Looking back, the exhibition not only created the opportunity for me to meet Heidi but also inspired me to come up with new ideas on how art could help us tell local stories.
Song of the Exile, one of the exhibiting works at the Macao section of La Biennale di Venezia.
Song of the Exile is exhibited with ceramic work and audio devices. There are two pieces of music performed by a Cantonese opera lover who has settled abroad for many years.
After deciding to join the La Biennale di Venezia, we discussed many interesting themes. We quickly came to the decision that we wanted to use the book Invisible Macao, written by cultural critic Lei Chin Pang from Macao, as part of the inspiration sources for our exhibition. We felt that we resonated with the book as we saw ourselves and our past in it. People in Macao have always enjoyed a special international and regional identity due to colonisation and geopolitical dynamics. The economic boom driven by the robust gaming industry in the past two decades has gained more international exposure for Macao. Macao’s development has since been characterised by this special identity and major economic leaps. What Macao is lacking though is its own voice from its people. From daily conversations, politics, economics, academics to cultural exchange, people from Macao seem to be having little say and significance in regional and international discussions. We either say nothing, or we are represented by others. But the fact that we are actually at the spot makes us invisible. I gradually learn that we need the ability to express ourselves and talk to the outside world.
Nine-Turning Zigzag Bridge, one of the exhibiting works at the Macao section of La Biennale di Venezia.
The work of art is showcased by ceramic work and a projector to illustrate the image of Nine-Turn Bridge in the Lou Lim Ieoc Garden in Macao.
Heidi’s works happen to have such communicative power. In contrast to me, Heidi rarely introduces herself to others through speaking or writing. Her works speak for herself. Heidi often tells me that her works are actually smarter than her. Heidi and I have both left our hometown Macao and settled abroad. That’s why we would often get together to talk about old memories. For example, we would talk about our school life back in Macao, the competitions we had participated in and the Hong Kong films that we had watched before. When planning the exhibition, we learned on social media that black bear BoBo that had lived in Flora Garden in Macao for over three decades and had been part of many people’s childhood memory, has passed away. These kinds of events stirred up our emotions and old memories. We then fused these sentiments into our art creation process and the exhibition. We used our works of art as the medium to preserve our memories and emotions.
Heidi uses nostalgia to tell stories while creating arts to ease that nostalgic feeling. This is also a process for her to reassess her nostalgia. She once shared Svetlana Boym’s article Nostalgia and Its Discontents with me. Boym defines that there are two kinds of nostalgia. One is restorative nostalgia, which stresses nostos (returning home) and attempts a transhistorical reconstruction of the lost home. Reflective nostalgia, the second nostalgia according to Boym, thrives on algia (the longing itself). To some extent, reflective nostalgia is a prospective nostalgia because people are looking back in time to find answers to present challenges. According to Heidi, Boym’s article enabled her to understand her nostalgia better and that reflective nostalgia was the message that she wants to convey at the exhibition. It’s something that people in Macao can share with the world.
The new generation of people in Macao is becoming nostalgic, which could turn into a negative and defensive social mentality. But this could also nurture a reflective awareness of locality and civic society. We are hoping that this exhibition could provide the audience with the chance to explore their Macao cultural identity as well as the past and future of the city.
Source: C2 Issue 33