創作陳述 Artist Statement 2016

書寫繪畫

當語言聲符被記錄下來，語言就轉化為物質。不論我們使用甚麼工具（如鉛筆或顏料），書寫於甚麼素材上（如紙張或畫布），留下的一切痕跡均與繪畫無異。所以，書寫是物質化的過程。我在繪畫上主要處理空間，較少考慮時間。畫布、塑膠彩、透明膠片與絹層層重疊的效果，構成密集而類近的符號關係，衍生含蓄而委婉的意義。

雖然語言為聲，文字為圖，但兩者關係並非絕對任意，語言符號亦不毫無意義。此外，約定俗成的文化因素，令哪個是文字符號，哪個是圖象，變得難以釐清，故W.J.T. Mitchell提出兩者是「辯證詞藻」關係，而非單純的二元對立。我運用文字與圖象的方向，在於兩者之間的來回往返，繼而離開非此即彼的劃分概念。

中文文字秩序有別於西方拼音文字系統，本就具備圖象與符號的特質。中文文字進入視覺藝術領域，該有自家的文化脈絡。繁體中文造形豐富，結構嚴謹，不論完整方塊字或只餘下筆劃，均有多種指向與想像。再者，中文詞語或句子組合千變萬化，繪畫空間開放閱讀次序，衍生意義的遊戲可有更多種玩法。

然而，繁體中文於現世已成小眾。我所學習的、我所閱讀的、我所書寫的、我所發聲的，原來只能徘徊於島嶼與島嶼之間。我對繁體中文字形的記憶、感悟與情懷，原來是需要珍重的文化身份與經驗。文字得存活於生活之中，我的繪畫就在文字之中。

Writing Painting

When phonemes are being transcribed, language comes into material existence. Regardless of the means of transcription (e.g. pencil or paints) or on what the transcription is made (e.g. paper or canvas), the markings of writing are no different from that of painting. That is why to write is to materialize. The main focus of my painting is on space instead of time. The layering of canvas, acrylic paint, transparent acrylic board and silk composes a symphony of “dense analogue symbols”. The relationship between these symbols in my paintings often carries subtle nuances.

Though sound and visible marks or appearance of letters are two distinct spheres in terms of linguistics, the relationship between the two is not arbitrary, and linguistic signs are by no means meaningless. Besides, the boundary between word and image is sometimes blurred as a result of social agreement or convention. That was why W. J. T. Mitchell brought forward his theory of the “dialectical trope” instead of binary opposition of word and image. My approach to the use of both words and images is to shuttle between both ends of the word/image opposition, thus breaking free from the aforesaid binary opposition.

Chinese characters are in themselves pictograms and symbols, and the order of words in the Chinese language is totally different from that of phonetic languages. The inclusion of Chinese characters into the realm of visual art has its own particular cultural context. With highly varied shapes and meticulous composition, Traditional Chinese characters (used in Hong Kong and Taiwan), either as a whole or as components alone, embody rich layers of meanings and inspire imagination. Furthermore, with the myriad ways of arranging characters in the Chinese language, the appearance of characters in pictorial space serves to relax the usual word order and further opens the possibilities of reading to enable even more outcomes in the game of generating multiple meanings.

Nonetheless, today the Traditional Chinese writing system has become a minority (as it is overshadowed by Simplified Chinese that is used in Mainland China and parts of South-east Asia). I have come to realise that the language that I studied and speak, and in which I read and write, is confined to drifting between islands (of Hong Kong and Taiwan). I have also realised that the memory, understanding of and emotional attachment to the shape of Traditional Chinese characters are a precious cultural identity and experience. Words are kept alive only in everyday life, while my paintings live in a world of words.