Maverick: Interview with Zhu Tian
造反有理：專訪藝術家朱田

造反有理－－專訪藝術家朱田

Maverick: Interview with Zhu Tian

 

撰文：劉競晨

 

畢業於英國皇家藝術學院雕塑系研究生的朱田獲得了2015年度英國卡特琳藝術獎（Catlin Art Prize），她與另外七位提名藝術家為此獎項新創作的作品於5月在倫敦新城堡空間（Londonewcastle Project Space）與大家見面。在公佈得獎消息前，朱田的藝術創作已經受到了各方的積極關注。作為一名華人藝術家，朱田獨特的成長歷程和創作邏輯展現了年青一代旅英華人藝術家的別樣風貌。

Zhu Tian, graduated from the Royal College of Art MA Sculpture, won the 2015 Catlin Art Prize. Together with the other seven nominees, she will be staging her new works for the event in Londonewcastle Project Space. Before the winner announcement, Zhu and her works have claimed keen interest from various quarters. Her growth as a Chinese artist and unique artistic logic is a special showcase of what the younger generation of British Chinese artists can achieve on the foreign soil.

 

 

朱田，小名甜甜，以“甜”為名應該是長輩們對她寄予的期望，愿她能出落成一位甜美可人的佳麗，的確，第一眼看上去，她確實是一位標準的江南美人，嬌小玲瓏的身材、標緻甜美的面容，但交談起來她眉宇之間的英武之氣卻讓她顯得格外不同，她是不一樣的“三好學生”。

Zhu Tian has a Chinese nickname “Tiantian” (literally meaning “sweetheart”), which probably cause some of her elders to expect a sweet and fair lady. In fact, at first sight, she does appear a proper Chinese fair lady with her dainty figure and exquisite face. However, in conversation, the sharpness upon her brow clearly differentiates her from others—she is a different kind of “honor student”.

在來到英國之前，朱田看似是在走一條標準的“中國式三好學生”的道路，但不同於其他人的是，在優異的學習成績的掩護下，她的“叛逆”精神和對文藝的熱愛沒有被扼殺掉，或者說她狡猾地找到了這兩者之間的平衡──為了能夠給自己留有更多的自由空間和“造反”的可能性，她必須保證能有足夠優異的成績來作為博弈的籌碼，畢竟，對她來說搞定考試成績並不是很難的事。

Before coming to Britain, Zhu was following a standard Chinese “honor student” pathway but what distinguished her from others was that under the cover of excellent academic performance, her rebellious idea and pursuit of art had not been stifled, or to put it another way, she was so cunning as to strike a balance—in order to win more freedom for herself and create the possibility to “rebel”, she had to maintain a good enough academic record as a bargaining chip; luckily for her, excelling in exams was no big deal.

直到進入了大學，中國大學教育的死板和僵化徹底讓朱田感到了失望，在一次到香港交換學習中，她接觸到了西方的高等教育體系，這種開放的教育模式深深地吸引了她，這便是她到英國留學的前奏，也正是這種新式的教育模式，開啟了她對自己職業生涯的考量和重新規劃。在來到英國之後，雖然是以金融相關的知識背景申請的經濟學課程，但她知道自己不會在這個領域發展，她的志向是在她所熱愛的文藝世界當中。於是一條“曲線救國”的道路展開了，從諾丁漢大學的經濟學本科畢業后，她又取得了伯恩茅斯大學（Bournemouth University）聲音設計專業的碩士學位，而後又在倫敦從事了幾年與聲音設計相關的工作。直到2008年，在這一年，朱田參與了維多利亞和阿爾伯特博物館（Victoria & Albert Museum）的《中國當下設計（China Design Now）》的展覽，這是她第一次在當代藝術語境之下進行藝術創作，而這次的經歷深刻地改變了她的人生軌跡。當代藝術創作中的無限可能性深深地打動了她，從這一刻起，朱田明確了她的發展方向──成為一位藝術家，至死方休。

In college, Zhu felt utterly disappointed with the stiff and ossified Chinese higher education. In one exchange program with a Hong Kong university, she for the first time experienced the western higher education system, whose openness deeply attracted her and which in fact served as the prelude for her move to the UK; and it was also such an advanced education model that inspired her to re-consider and re-plan her professional career. After arrival in Britain, Zhu applied for Economics with her financial education background, but she knew for sure that she would not proceed further in this orientation—what she was craving for was the world of art she was already deeply in love with. Thus, a detour to achieve her dream was taken; soon after she graduated with a BA in Economics from the University of Nottingham, she took an MA in Sound Design in Bournemouth University, and later engaged herself in work related to sound design in London for a few years. It was not until 2008 that she first embarked on artistic creation under the context of contemporary art by taking part in the exhibition “China Design Now” in the Victoria & Albert Museum, which profoundly changed the course of her life. The unlimited possibilities in contemporary art creation deeply moved her and from then on, Zhu Tian finally came to a clear realization of her calling as an artist.

朱田的經歷和從藝的過程與其他的駐英藝術家及留學英國的中國藝術類學生都有很大的不同，和他們相比，朱田在十幾歲的時候就來到了英國，她尚未完全成型的價值觀和內部邏輯可以使她更快地將東西兩種文明的衝突和碰撞進行快速的融合和雜糅，建構一個中西合璧的邏輯體系；此外優異的學習成績和英語基礎也讓她能夠更快地融入英國社會和汲取大量的一手專業諮詢；最重要的是，她內心的叛逆和獨立在英國這樣一個鼓勵個人發展和提倡批判精神的國家中正好可以被良性地放大；同樣，她並沒有接受過中國的藝術教育，沒有受過科班的模具化的專業美術訓練，這也使得她沒有太多技術上和思想上的包袱，可以無縫連接西方藝術教育的核心價值。以上的這些特質造就了今天的朱田，一個充滿潛力的青年藝術家，如果說她是在命運的安排下冥冥之中走上了藝術的道路，或許更應該說，是她心中那個永不停歇的“小惡魔”為了能夠名正言順地不停“折騰”和永葆“叛逆”本色而驅使她走上了藝術的不歸路。

Zhu Tian’s experience and her art career form a strong contrast with other Chinese artists in Britain as well as those Chinese art students who study in the UK. Zhu was still a teenager when she first set foot in Britain, her values and logics not yet fully formed, which enabled her to quickly fuse the conflicts and collisions between eastern and western cultures, and bring into being a logic system featuring a harmony of western and Chinese characteristics. Thanks to her outstanding academic performance and mastery of English, she was able to merge into British society and have access to a large volume of first-hand professional information. Most importantly, her rebellious attitude and independence could be brought to full play in a country which encouraged individual endeavor and critical thinking; at the same time, she did not receive any Chinese artistic education or undergo formal training and professional molding in fine arts, therefore she was free from technical and intellectual limitations, which in turn seamlessly prepared her for the core values of art education in the west. All of these make Zhu Tian the way she is today, a young artist with great potential. Instead of saying she is destined to pursue art without herself knowing it, it would be fairer to conclude that it is the relentless devil inside her who demands to justify itself and remain rebellious that spurred her on the road of art with no turning back.

朱田的創作多種多樣，採用的媒介也是不一而同，行為、雕塑、裝置都是她常用的表達方式，而且她的作品內容題材也非常豐富，很難將她簡單地歸結為任何一種藝術家，不過從她今年的作品當中，我們或許可以看出一些她所關注的領域和創作邏輯。

Zhu is versatile in her art and adopts a wide range of media, among which; performance, sculpture and installation are most commonly used. Her works also cover a variety of themes, so it is hard to classify her into any certain types. Her works this year however, do give us some clues for what she is interested in and the creative logic she employs.

• 對肉體的不屑、對精神性的崇尚──《賤賣品（Selling the Worthless, 2014）》

在這件作品中，朱田將她的身體通過社交媒體的平臺進行拍賣，任何人都可以出價來競拍她身體上A4大小的一個部份，起拍價是0元；但同時，她也打算將自己的夢境標價出售，但售價會非常之高。她覺得，肉體對於她來說是一具驅殼，一個容器，甚至是一個監獄，而夢境則是她自由靈魂創造出來的獨特景象，真正牽涉到她作為一個個體所有的隱私和有價值的東西，對比之下，肉體凡胎與靈光一現之間高低自見。

Extract from the video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGiB1bh4pXw

Disdain body and embrace spirit—

Selling the Worthless, 2014

In this work, Zhu staged a social networking auction for her body, where anyone could bid on any part of her body in A4 size with the starting price of 0 yuan. At the same time, she also put her dreams for sale with extremely high prices. She views the body as nothing more than a carcass, a container, even a prison, but dreams are a unique landscape created by her free spirit, which thus has a direct bearing as to what is personal and valuable to her as an individual. In this sense, the superiority of dreams’ epiphanic nature over earthly body is all too apparent.

• 對權威的質疑和挑釁──《扯/胡說/胡說八道！（Bullshit！, 2013）》

這件作品印證了對於朱田來說，任何的場景、行為和聲音都是實施她藝術創作的一個工具和環節，作品之中表現出來的黑色幽默和對既有規則的鄙視成了她標誌性的符號。她將一個錄有以隨機間隔大喊“Bullshit（放屁）！”語音的播放器悄悄地置於展廳，當批評家和權威人士開始點評藝術家作品的時候，在觀眾們翹首以盼、虛席以待的時候，她開始播放這件作品。可以想像，在觀眾安靜地聆聽“大師”品評的時候，當“大師”沉醉於高高在上“指點江山”的美妙時刻，一句不知從何而來的“Bullshit（放屁）！”打破了可笑和脆弱的權威和受眾之間的關係，不禁讓人忍俊不禁。

Question and challenge authority—

Bullshit!, 2013

This work is a perfect reflection of Zhu’s idea that any scene, action or sound can be an instrument and procedure for her artistic practice. The black humor and contempt for established rules in this work has become iconic of Zhu. She played a recording shouting “Bullshit!” at random intervals from concealed speakers pre-installed at the venue. When critics and authorities began to comment on the works and the audience was filled with expectations, her recording set in—it is not difficult to imagine how the derisible and fragile relationship between the authority and audience was suddenly shattered when “Bullshit!” arose out of nowhere interrupting the self-important commentaries by “masters” in which the audience had totally lost themselves. The mere thought of it can instantly prompt one to laugh.

• 個體和集體的衝突──《捆綁/關係（Tie, 2014）》

有一次在維也納的群展當中，朱田有預謀地在開展之前臨時改變了展覽計劃，要在展廳顯赫的中央位置來實施一個奪人眼球的行為表演──將自己綁在一個柱子的頂端，並邀請觀眾以他們任何願意的方式與她互動。但其實她未向眾人揭露她的真正意圖，其實是想測試其他參展藝術家在面對這樣突發事件的時候會作出什麼樣的舉動，而且驗證一下在藝術家群展中，藝術家群體、策展人和作為個體的藝術家之間的政治會發生什麼樣的衝突。果不其然，這樣的變動讓本來平靜的展覽和藝術家們躁動起來，有的表示不滿，有的表示支持，而策展人則不停地與大家爭論和協調，最後這件作品的展示位置從朱田要求的展廳中央不斷地被邊緣化，最終被勒令禁止在展覽開幕當天呈現出來。而且官方的展覽介紹中對這件作品的闡釋也並沒有體現出這種深度的內涵，這也是朱田非常願意採用行為藝術的方式進行表達的一個原因：“必須在現場，總會出現各種不確定的因素，每一次都會有不同的效果，這種短兵相接的真實和直接性是其他藝術媒介不具備的。”

Conflict between individuals and the mass—

Tie, 2014

In a group exhibition in Vienna, Zhu deliberately changed her exhibition plan before the opening. She put on an eye-catching performance in the center of the exhibition conspicuously tying herself to a chair on a tall plinth and inviting audience to interact in any way they like. However, she never disclosed her intention—to test how other participating artists responded to such an unexpected incident and what conflicts, if any, would happen among the artists as a collective, and the curators and artists as individuals. Not surprisingly, such an act caused a stir in the exhibition and among the artists, some of whom protested while others supported it; meanwhile, the curators were busy arguing with artists and coordinating a response. In the end, the work was pushed from the center of the venue where she demanded to stage her work and eventually banned on the opening day of the exhibition. What’s more, the official introduction of the work never revealed the depth of it, and this is also why Zhu was willing to adopt performance art—“you have to be on the spot where there are always uncertainties which ensure different outcomes every time; the immediacy and directness of such confrontation is what other media are short of”.

• 對既有規則的挑戰──《錢（Money, 2015-）》

這是朱田今年4月1號開始的一個計劃持續到死的行為作品，在她看來，在各種文化當中，“錢”都是一個繞不開、但大家都不願意去談的話題，“錢”成了一種禁忌，詢問對方存款的多少往往被看做是一種無禮的表現。作為一位藝術家，朱田也同樣被錢的問題所困擾和束縛，而她所採取的行動就是──每月公佈自己所有的存款金額數，任何人都可以向她索取她當月的銀行帳單，看到她的各項支出和收入。當然她也深知這樣的行為有巨大的潛在危險，甚至受到至親家人的極力反對，但用她的原話來說：“我恨死錢了，錢是目前我人生受到的最大的束縛和阻礙，我有種很強烈的想跟它死磕的沖動，我想看看它和我、我們的人生到！底！是什麽樣的關系、能產生什麽樣的影響。公布我的存款狀況是想借這個行為，以第三方的距離對它（錢）做長期有意識的觀察，並把自己作為一個實驗對象提供給大家對關於錢這個事思考的契機。如果這個決定會給我帶來災難，那就讓它來吧，去他媽的。”  她說她會將這件作品做一輩子，不管你信不信。

This is a performance piece intending to last from April 1 (2015) to the day the artist dies. In her opinion, regardless of culture, money is an inescapable yet notorious topic; money is taboo and it is considered impolite to ask how much one has. As an artist, Zhu is also nagged and fettered by money issues, and she copes with them by publishing a report of all the money she has on a monthly basis. Anyone can demand a copy of her bank statement in any given month to see her income and expenditure. She is well aware of the potential risk in doing this, and even met with tremendous opposition from her family, but she is quoted as saying “I resent money so much, which is the biggest shackle and obstacle in my life so far, and I have this strong impulse to battle with it, I want to see what influence it exerts on my and our life. Publishing my finance is a way to intentionally observe it from a long-term perspective of a distant third party and to present myself as an experimental object which hopefully can entail a chance to re-consider money issues for us, and if it will bring disaster to me, then just let it be, fuck it!” She said she would carry on with the work for her lifetime, whether you believe it or not.

• 用戲謔的手段來調侃生活──《抱大腿/緊貼策展人（Cling To A Curator (work in progress, 2015)）》

   

· Cling To A Curator (2015), Performance with Laura Petrillo (Academy Now)
Cling To A Curator (2015), Performance with Zavier Ellis (Charlie Smith London) ·

 

在最近的藝術實踐當中，朱田採用了一種很滑稽的手段來表達她對當下展覽體制和藝術界規則的意見：她把自己脫光，用考拉的姿勢環抱住與她合作的策展人，並用保鮮膜將他們倆牢牢地捆在一起。一個是赤裸裸的藝術家，一個是衣冠革履的策展人，被綁到一起的樣子的確很荒謬，但這就是一個對當下藝術界現狀赤裸裸的描畫──青年藝術家就得不顧一切地與策展人緊密地結合到一起才能得到更多的關注和機會──哪怕場面並沒有那麼好看。朱田將這種典型的英式幽默和諷刺發揮得淋漓盡致。

Take life light-heartedly—

Cling to a Curator (work in progress, 2015)

In her recent artistic practices, Zhu has employed ridiculous measures to express her objection to the existing systems of exhibition and art. She stripped naked and held the curators she collaborated with like a koala, with cling film binding them tight together. A naked artist and a neatly dressed curator tied to each other—it is such an absurd sight and though it might not look good, it does depict the reality of the current art circle that young artists should try every means possible to cling to curators so as to attract more attention and opportunities. Zhu has once again brought the typical British humor and sarcasm into full play.

 

ART.ZIP:你怎麼看待你自己的創作？有沒有特別關注的問題和方向？

ZT:目前為止我很少去總結自己的作品，我現在只是剛剛開始，我對很多題材和媒介都很好奇，想作各種各樣的嘗試，我唯一能確認的就是藝術是我想要持續的工作內容，我特別害怕既定的未來和穩定的狀態，也特別容易覺得無聊，只有藝術創作可以讓我保持一種冒險和不穩定的狀態。對於創作的方向，我沒有給自己作任何限定和規劃，但我脾氣很佞，遇事情總是會問“為什麼”或者“為什麼不”，越是被告知不能或者不讓幹的，我就越想去嘗試，看看到底會發生什麼。對那些既有的答案或者體制，我總是覺得需要做點什麼，用手指去捅一捅，看能不能捅出些隐藏在表面下的问题来，我的本質裡應該是帶有粗糙的朋克和少量無政府主義精神的吧。我覺得需要有我這樣的人存在，才能保持系統的平衡，所以我作品當中經常會對很多既有的規則和默認的行為模式發起挑戰，也會有關於權力關係的討論。

ART.ZIP: How do you comment on your work? Are there any issues and directions you are particularly interested in?

ZT: At this point, I try not to think too much about my work as a whole. I am just starting out, and I am still exploring many subjects and media. The only thing I am sure of is that my art is a life-long undertaking, and I am extremely averse to stability and a predictable future. I get bored very easily, and only making art can sustain the adventurousness and instability that I crave. As for the direction my art is taking, I have very few restrictions and plans; I’m instinctively skeptical and anti-authority. I tend to ask ‘Why?’ or ‘Why not?’ The more I am told not to do certain things, the more I have to try them out to see what on earth will happen. When faced with stock answers and established systems, I always have this irresistible desire to poke them, to try and bring what is underneath to the surface. Maybe there is an anarchic punk in me? I think there needs to be someone like me in society to balance the system. So, in my work, I often question the existing rules and default practices, and engage with power-related issues.

ART.ZIP:在你的作品當中很難看出你的中國背景，你有沒有考慮過身為中國藝術家這樣一種身份的問題？

ZT:完全沒有，我從來沒有考慮過這個問題，我覺得以“國”來劃分人群的概念是很過時的、需要趕緊被淘汰的。在我們現在所處的這個流動性這麽強的液體時代，想要以單一的某個國籍和文化來定義自己幾乎是一廂情願的事。我從來都不是一個合群的人，在中國的時候是這樣，在英國也是，我很抵觸集體這個概念，人群對我來說很可怕，特別是當人群的意見達到某種統一時是最可怕的。我的創作僅僅只是以我作為一個個體出發，並不希望被套到更大的群體性概念中去，什麽中國的英國的移民的後殖民的，我甚至連男性女性的標簽都不想要，就是一個 “人”，地球上莫名其妙存在的一顆粒子。

ART.ZIP: It is difficult to discern your Chinese background from your works, have you ever considered your identity as a Chinese artist?

ZT: Absolutely not. I have never considered it, because the categorisation of people according to “countries” is a rather dated notion that needs to be left behind. We live in a highly mobile and fluid time and any attempt to define ourselves based solely on a certain nationality or culture is just wishful thinking. I am not a sociable person, either in China or the UK; I am very skeptical of the idea of collectivity, especially when they reach a certain consensus in their opinions. My work simply represents me as an individual. I feel very reluctant to be categorised under any labels (like Chinese, British, immigrant, post-colonist or even male/female), but rather as a person, a lone particle in a strange world.

ART.ZIP:有沒有喜歡的藝術家和藝術表現方式？

ZT:嗯，我有很多喜歡的藝術家，比如比利時的法蘭西斯·艾里斯（Francis Alys），布魯斯·諾曼（Bruce Nauman），馬丁·克利德（Martin Creed），謝德慶。最喜歡的一件、嫉妒到恨不得是自己的一件作品，就是邁克·蘭迪（Michael Landy）的《崩潰（Break Down）》，我曾在腦海里無數次地演習，想像自己拋去一切物質束縛的場景，但他是真的這麼去做了！牛逼炸了！在藝術表現形式上，我好像越來越受行為的吸引。我越來越看到行為的優勢，它在你產生並提出一個問題的時候幾乎能在執行這個行為的過程中立刻給你某種答案，相對來說，你只是一個被動的執行者，這個行為事件的本身才是高於你、真正有生命的主體。而其它任何的藝術形式，幾乎在你提出問題的同時，就產生了一種固化的局面。對我來說，作品淩駕於作者之上的才是真正有生命的作品。創作者操控局面精打細算嚴格控制產生的作品頂多只能算一次作者的自白，除非你是異於常人的偉大之人，不然意思就不大。對我來說這些都是次等品。

ART.ZIP: Are you interested in any artists and media in particular?

ZT: Yes, I like many artists, such as Francis Alys from Belgium, Bruce Nauman, Martin Creed and Tehching Hsieh. I am very fond of Michael Landy’s ‘Break Down’. I like it so much that I wish it was my own work. I have often imagined myself abandoning all earthly possessions but Landy really did it! He fucking did it for real! That is incredible! In terms of media, I seem to feel more and more attracted to performance art as I become more aware of its advantages. When you have a question and decide to ask it through performance, it provides you with answers of some sort. It’s a living process. To some extent, you are no more than an operator; the performance work has a life and development of its own. Whereas with most other media, there’s less dynamism, you start with a question and it often ends there. To me, a work that is beyond its maker is a work with life. A work born from meticulous control and manipulation is at best a mere confession of the artist.

 

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Find Out More:

Catlin Art Prize 卡特琳藝術獎

The Catlin Art Prize. Now entering its ninth year, the Catlin Art Prize is an annual event showcasing the most promising art school graduates one year on from their degree exhibitions. The Prize is unique in providing the artists (short listed) with the time and opportunity to develop their practice, encouraging them to demonstrate their progress by producing a new body of work to be exhibited at Londonewcastle Project Space, London. The selected artists are taken from The Catlin Guide and are considered to be producing work of an outstanding quality, which demonstrates their capacity to make a significant mark in the art world during the next decade.

The curator of the Catlin Art Prize is the independent curator and art writer Justin Hammond.

Catlin Group Limited is an international specialist property/casualty insurer and reinsurer and a leading underwriter of art insurance, both in the United Kingdom and worldwide. Catlin underwrites fine art insurance for a wide variety of clients including museums, dealers, exhibitions and private collections.

www.artcatlin.com

 

今年是卡特琳藝術獎的第九個年頭，每年卡特琳藝術獎都會從當年的全英最優秀的藝術學院應屆藝術畢業生當中甄選出40位優秀畢業生，並為其中8位入圍藝術家提供資金和場地來創作新的參展作品，這些藝術家是被業內關注并有潛力成為未來優秀藝術家并改變藝術史走向的傑出才俊。

卡特琳藝術獎策展人是藝術評論家、獨立策展人賈斯汀·哈蒙德（Justin Hammond）。

此獎項的冠名贊助商是科特林集團，這是一家國際範圍內專業類財產和意外保險公司，其在全世界範圍內的藝術保險領域居於領導地位。卡特琳藝術保險的客戶非常廣泛，包括了很多博物館、藝術經銷商、展覽以及私人藝術收藏品。

www.artcatlin.com

 

The Catlin Art Prize 2015, 8^th-30^th May

Londonewcastle Project Space, 28 Redchurch Street, London E2 7DP

Opening Night: Thursday 7^th May 6-9pm

Opening Times: 11-6pm daily, Sundays noon-4pm