Shantell Martin: How drawing can set you free | TED

翻译人员: Eli 迪 Keldsen 吴 校对人员: Wanting Zhong

So here we are.

此时此刻，

I'm at home, as I'm sure many of you are, too.

我在家里，我敢肯定 你们中的许多人也一样。

And we've all begun to understand

我们都开始了解

how our relationship with ourselves,

我们与自己、

with each other

与彼此、

and the spaces we exist in

与我们存在空间的关系

can deeply impact our sense of identity and purpose.

是如何深刻地影响 我们对身份和目标的认知。

So much has dramatically changed.

太多事情发生了巨变。

There's a sense of distance now unlike ever before.

我们都感到了前所未有的距离感。

But what if I told you

但是如果我告诉你，

that you could find a way from your heart to your hand

你可以找到一个由心至手的办法

to reconnect again,

重新进行连接，

and that through this practice and embracing this cause,

通过这种做法， 通过拥抱这项事业，

I could help you to recalibrate your mind

我可以帮你调整心态，

so that you could explore this new reality with joy,

让你心怀喜悦、热情、想象与希望， 去探索这个新的现实，

enthusiasm, imagination and hope?

又会如何呢？

And all it would take is a simple pen.

而你只需要一支简单的笔。

To get you there,

为了帮你找到这个办法，

let's go back to the beginning.

让我们回到故事的开头。

As a kid growing up in a council estate in Southeast London,

小时候，我在伦敦东南部的 一间公营房屋里长大。

I was an outsider.

那时的我是一个局外人。

I'm the oldest of six kids,

我是六个孩子中的长女，

and all of my siblings look very English:

我所有的兄弟姐妹 长得都很像英国人：

blond hair, blue eyes, very cute.

金色的头发，蓝色的眼睛，非常可爱。

And then there was me:

然后是我：

half Nigerian, brown, with an Afro.

半尼日利亚血统，褐色皮肤， 顶着一头非洲卷发。

So what happens when you look different

当你长相不同、

and you feel different,

感受不同、

and in many ways, start to think differently

并且在很多方面的想法开始有别于 你周围所有人和一切时，

from everyone and everything around you?

会发生什么？

How do you find your way out of a dark, racist, homophobic

你该如何找到一条路，带你走出 一个充满黑暗、种族主义、恐惧同性恋的

and very lonely place?

寂寞之地？

This is where the pen comes in.

这就是笔派上用场的地方。

I started to draw.

我开始画画。

So as you can see, I've got this pen,

如你所见，我有这支笔，

and it knows where it's going.

而它知道该前往何方。

And I've learned very well how to follow it.

而我很好地学会了 该怎样跟随它。

And the first thing I did is I followed this line,

我做的第一件事是 跟随这条线，

and I drew myself out of a culture

我用画画让自己脱离了

that was only telling me what I couldn't do.

一个只会告诉我 不能做什么的文化。

I trusted my pen,

我相信我的笔，

and it led me to Central Saint Martin's,

而它把我领进了 中央圣马丁艺术与设计学院，

a very fancy art school in London,

这是伦敦一所非常高端的艺术学校，

where I graduated top of my year.

我以年级第一名的身份从这里毕业。

However, I soon realized there wasn't a place for me in London,

但是，我很快意识到， 我在伦敦没有归属，

because whether you wish to believe it or not,

因为不管你是否愿意相信，

England is still a country that is rooted and functions within

英国仍然是一个深深根植于 社会阶级系统的国家，

the class system.

并以此为基础运转。

And as a young, black, gay female artist from a working-class family,

作为来自工人阶级家庭的 年轻黑人同性恋女性艺术家，

I didn't stand a chance.

我没有任何机会。

So I left London and I moved to Japan,

所以我离开伦敦，搬到了日本，

where I didn't experience people asking me where I was really from.

没有人问我究竟来自哪里。

I was just another gaijin,

我只不过是另一个 “gaijin（外国人）”，

which, ironically, means "outsider."

讽刺的是，这个词也代表 “局外人” 的意思。

I was immersed in a culture that honors both making and craft,

我沉浸在这个尊崇 工匠精神的文化中，

where people perfect their craft over generations.

这里的人们代代相传地 精心打磨自己的工艺。

It's a culture that masters both time and space,

这是一个掌控了时间 与空间的文化，

so that artists can truly create with freedom.

让艺术家们得以 真正自由地创作。

And what I discovered was a place I wasn't angry with.

我发现这是一个 不会让我动怒的地方。

Tokyo hadn't wronged me in any way.

东京丝毫没有排斥我。

I could no longer create with anger

我再也无法出于愤怒

or out of pain.

或痛苦而进行创作。

I had to bravely allow myself to create from a different place.

我必须大胆地让自己 从一个不同的出发点进行创作。

And what I found is this incredible tool

我发现这个不可思议的工具

transcended a line on paper.

超越了纸上的线。

I found this thing

我发现的这件事物

that connected my head to my heart

将我的头脑连至我的心，

and my hand to everything.

又将我的手与万物相连。

I could see the world in new ways.

我可以用新的方式看世界。

I found connections in corners

我在拐弯处找到了联系，

and the solutions to problems I never knew existed.

并意外发现 一些问题的解决方案早已存在。

It's like the world with all its positive and negative spaces

就好像世界所有的正负面之处

could now be seen.

如今都映在你的眼中。

And just by seeing it,

仅仅只是看见，

there was no longer any fear.

就能让你不再有任何恐惧。

It's like my pen was a flashlight,

我的笔就像是手电筒，

and the unknown was still there,

未知虽然依旧存在，

but it wasn't scary.

却不再让人害怕。

After five years of living in Japan and focusing on my craft,

在日本生活了五年， 专注于磨练技艺后，

I felt like I needed a new challenge.

我觉得我需要一个新的挑战。

So I moved to New York,

于是我搬到了纽约，

because that's what you do as an artist, right?

因为这是作为艺术家 会做的事情，对吧？

You move to the greatest city in the world

搬去世界上最好的城市，

that has the ability

这座城市能够

to make you feel completely and utterly invisible.

让你感觉自己 完完全全地隐身了。

This is when I began to truly ask myself,

正是此时，我开始真正地问自己，

"Who are you?"

“你是谁？”

I would wake up in the morning, and before I began my day,

我会在早上醒来， 在开始新的一天之前，

I would meditate on this.

针对这个问题进行沉思。

And with this question in mind,

心中带着这个问题，

I kept drawing.

我继续作画。

I followed the line.

我跟随着笔下的线条。

I let it lead the way.

我让它为我带路。

The process of picking up a pen,

拾起画笔的过程

something everyone has access to,

是每个人都有机会去尝试的过程，

the act of giving myself permission to let go

这个行为能让我允许自己

of all thoughts, all fears, insecurities --

放开一切想法、恐惧、不安——

anything that would get in the way

任何会妨碍我

of allowing myself to be completely me --

完完全全做我自己的东西——

that became my way of experiencing freedom.

那成了我体验自由的方式。

When I got to New York,

初到纽约时，

I didn't want to play by the rules of the art world.

我不想遵守艺术世界的规则。

I continued my practice as an outsider.

我继续做我的局外人。

I kept drawing.

我继续画画。

Curiosity became the ink for my pen,

好奇心成为了我笔中的墨水，

and I continued to dive deeper.

而我继续挖掘得更深。

Over time, I began to create a bold, confident space for myself,

随着时间流逝，我开始为自己 创造一个大胆、自信的空间，

a space that was all my own.

仅属于我一个人的空间。

Initially, it was just my bedroom.

最初，这个空间只是我的卧室。

But that bedroom ended up in "The New York Times,"

但是那个卧室 出现在了《纽约时报》上，

and suddenly, I was being seen and known

突然间，我创造的这个世界

for this world I had created.

让我被世人所见、所知。

Since then,

自那以后，

I've created and collaborated with some of the most unique artists,

我开始与一些最独特的 艺术家、机构和空间

institutions and spaces,

合作进行创作，

from the screens of Times Square,

从时代广场的屏幕，

to the New York City Ballet for their incredible artist series,

到纽约芭蕾舞团 令人惊叹的艺术家系列，

where I interviewed a number of dancers.

在这里我采访了一些舞者，

Their stories and words became the foundation

以他们的故事和话语为基础，

of over 30 drawings and artworks,

创作了 30 多件画作和艺术品，

which took over the promenade walls,

占据了长廊墙壁、

windows and floors.

窗户和地板。

For a long time,

在很长一段时间里，

I wanted to create a space for contemplation and poetry.

我都想为冥想和诗歌 创造一个空间。

And in 2019,

而在 2019 年，

I was given the opportunity to do just that

总督岛信托基金会

给了我这样一个机会。

by the Trust of Governor's Island.

They provided me with the perfect canvas

一座曾经的军事教堂

in the form of a former military chapel.

就是他们为我提供的完美画布。

Meet "The May Room."

欢迎来到 “五月室”（The May Room）。

With drawings on the exterior inspired by the history of the island,

教堂外壁的图画 受到了岛屿历史的启发，

you walk inside, you take your shoes off,

当你走进去，脱掉鞋，

and there's a drawing on the floor in the form of a maze

地板上有一幅画 以迷宫的形式

that brings you back to you.

将你带回你自己身边。

It's an invitation to become calm.

这是在邀请你变得平静。

And this allows you to see phrases on the wall.

而这能让你看见墙上的短句：

"May you be wise."

“愿你明智。”

"May you sleep soundly at night."

“愿你晚上安然入睡。”

"May we save trees."

“愿我们保护树木。”

"May you," "may you," "may we."

“愿你”，“愿你”，“愿我们”。

And these phrases seem like they're rising from you

这些短句仿佛从你身上升起，

or falling into you.

或是向你心中坠落。

I've let my lines become much like a language,

我让我的线条 变得像是一种语言，

a language that has unfolded much like life.

一种如同生活一般 展开的语言。

And when there has been silence,

在沉默之中，

I've sought connection through conversation,

我通过对话寻求联系，

asking questions to push through the discomfort.

通过提问来克服不适。

Drawing has taught me how to create my own rules.

绘画教会了我 如何创建自己的规则。

It has taught me to open my eyes to see not only what is,

它教我睁开眼睛， 不只要看见眼前的东西，

but what can be.

还要看见有什么可能。

And where there are broken systems,

在系统失灵的地方，

we can create new ones that actually function and benefit all,

我们可以创造出正常运转、 惠及全体的新系统，

instead of just a select few.

而不是仅仅造福少数人。

Drawing has taught me how to fully engage with the world.

绘画教会了我 如何与世界充分互动。

And what I've come to realize through this language of lines

通过这种线条的语言， 我意识到的

is not the importance of being seen,

不是被看见的重要性，

but rather the gift of seeing that we give to others

而是我们赠与他人的 去看见的才能，

and how true freedom is the ability to see.

以及真正的自由 是看见的能力。

And I don't mean that literally,

我指的不是字面意义的“看见”，

because sight is only one way in which one can see.

因为视力仅仅是 “看见”的一种途径。

But what I mean is to experience the world in its entirety,

我的意思是， 去完整地体验世界的全貌，

maybe even more so during the most challenging moments

而在像我们今天面对的这样 最具挑战性的时刻，

like the one we face today.

我们更应该这么做。

I'm Shantell Martin.

我叫珊特尔 · 马丁 （Shantell Martin）。

I draw.

我擅长绘画。

And I invite you to pick up a pen

我邀请你拿起一支笔，

and see where it takes you.

看看它能将你带往何方。

(Music)

（音乐）