本書作品創作於2015 至2017 兩年內,有別於以往使用複合媒材,作品佔有實體空間,這段期間主要使用電腦來創作,一個我原本不熟悉但很想嘗試的工具,完成的數位作品除非以某種形式輸出,否則沒有實體。
放下習慣的創作方式重新學習,使得創作步伐變得陌生而緩慢,思考方式完全不同於以往;我因不熟悉而感到不安,為了沒進度覺得焦慮,但也因此一步步再次檢視創作的每個當下,因為重新體驗事物的創造方式而感到喜悅,那種「與自己思想相處」的專注,常常讓我忘了分秒的流逝,也總覺得時間不夠用。
本書作品系列緣起於我在小學教授藝術與人文課程,想藉著兒童特有的趣味風格,喚醒成人純真的一面,找回心中本有的小孩,就像找回一個自己的老朋友;這裡選出的作品分屬兩個部分:「自我覺察」與「探索未知」,這是人認識自己與世界的過程,反映了我對6 到12 歲小朋友成長階段的觀察,也是對個人持續學習的反省。
媒材形式與內容期望能與時代、社會和觀者的生命經驗產生反思與共鳴,不僅是對於兒童,更是關於所有人的。
藝術的存在,能讓人保持對生活的敏感,增加生命的厚度,我慶幸人生中有它。
All the works included in this portfolio were created during the past two years from 2015 to 2017 and they are quite different from my previous artworks. Before, I used to make mixed media artworks that were physical in substance and took up space. This time, I have switched to computer, a tool that I was not familiar with but always wanted to try, and there lies a significant difference: digital works are not physical at all unless they are printed out in certain ways.
For me, it was a whole new start. I had to let go familiar ways of thinking and working methods and tried to figure things out quite differently. I felt uncertain about the unfamiliarity and was anxious about my slow paces. However, this situation prompted me to ponder and question more on every decision-making, moment to moment and step by step, while working. In the end, I found myself experiencing again the joy of art-making. I was highly concentrated and totally immersed in my art that I often forgot about time and time was never enough for me to work.
The inception of this series of work is due to the arts and human courses that I have been teaching at elementary school. I choose to work in the “fun” style adopted from children’s artwork in order to awaken, among adults, the pure innocence within ourselves and bring back the inner child who is our true old friend. Works collected here belong to two categories: one is self-awareness and the other, exploration of the unknown. The idea is about the process in which one gets to know oneself and the outside world. These works reflect my observation, among school children aged 6 to 12, of various stages of their growing-up process and, above all, my introspection on the everlasting learning experience.
It is my hope that art, in this type of media and format, together with its content, will reflect and resonate with our time, society and the life experience of the viewer. It is not just about the children but for all of us.
Because of art, we are able to stay sensitive to life and ponder deeper meanings of life. I am fortunate that, in my life, there is art.