Drawings that show the beauty and fragility of Earth | Zaria Forman

Translator: Timmy Kwok Reviewer: Alan Watson

I consider it my life's mission

我將一件事當成我一生嘅使命

to convey the urgency of climate change through my work.

就係用我作品傳達氣候變化嘅急切性

I've traveled north to the Arctic to the capture the unfolding story

我去北極

搜集一啲不為人知 關於北極融化嘅故事

of polar melt,

and south to the Equator to document the subsequent rising seas.

又去赤道記錄 因融化而升咗嘅海平面

Most recently, I visited the icy coast of Greenland

最近，我走訪格陵蘭嘅結冰海岸

and the low-lying islands of the Maldives,

以及馬爾代夫嘅低窪島嶼

connecting two seemingly disparate but equally endangered

連起兩個看似毫不相關

但同樣喺我哋地球瀕臨消失嘅地方

parts of our planet.

My drawings explore moments of transition, turbulence

我嘅畫探索風景嘅轉變、狂風怒號

and tranquility in the landscape,

以及安寧

allowing viewers to emotionally connect

令觀眾同呢個或者成世都唔會去嘅地方

with a place you might never have the chance to visit.

產生情感上嘅接觸

I choose to convey the beauty as opposed to the devastation.

我選擇要傳達美感，而唔係破壞

If you can experience the sublimity of these landscapes,

如果你能夠體會到呢啲景色嘅美

perhaps you'll be inspired to protect and preserve them.

或者你會受啟發去保護佢哋

Behavioral psychology tells us that we take action

行為心理學話

我哋採取行動或者做決定 係以情感行先

and make decisions based on our emotions above all else.

And studies have shown that art impacts our emotions

研究顯示

藝術比一則恐怖嘅新聞 更有效影響我哋情緒

more effectively than a scary news report.

Experts predict ice-free Arctic summers

專家預測北極

最快 2020 年出現無冰嘅夏天

as early as 2020.

And sea levels are likely to rise between two and ten feet

海平面會喺世紀末上漲二至十呎

by century's end.

I have dedicated my career to illuminating these projections

我成個職業生涯

就喺度用一個大家接觸得到嘅媒介

with an accessible medium,

提醒人呢啲預測

同統計唔同，個媒介可以觸動到人

one that moves us in a way that statistics may not.

My process begins with traveling to the places

我開始嘅時候

去一啲首當其衝 氣候變化問題嘅地方旅行

at the forefront of climate change.

On-site, I take thousands of photographs.

喺嗰啲地方，我影咗幾千張相

Back in the studio,

返到工作室之後

I work from both my memory of the experience and the photographs

我利用我回憶裏面嘅經歷同埋相片

to create very large-scale compositions,

整咗好大規模嘅作品

sometimes over 10 feet wide.

有時會超過十呎闊

I draw with soft pastel, which is dry like charcoal, but colors.

我用似碳一樣硬、但有顏色嘅 軟粉彩畫畫

I consider my work drawings but others call them painting.

對於我嘅畫，我認為只係圖畫 但其他人就覺得係畫作

I cringe, though, when I'm referred to as a "finger painter."

但當人哋話我係「手指畫家」 我就唔敢當

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

But I don't use any tools

但我唔用工具

and I have always used my fingers and palms

我成日用手指同手掌 去調啱紙上面嘅顏料

to manipulate the pigment on the paper.

Drawing is a form of meditation for me.

對我嚟說，畫畫係冥想嘅一種形式

It quiets my mind.

令我思緒安靜落黎

I don't perceive what I'm drawing

我唔認為我畫嘅係冰或者水

as ice or water.

Instead, the image is stripped down

相反，圖像會還原返做 最基本嘅顏色同形狀

to its most basic form of color and shape.

Once the piece is complete,

當作品完成時

I can finally experience the composition as a whole,

我就可以睇到一幅完整嘅作品

as an iceberg floating through glassy water,

睇到一座冰山浮於玻璃般嘅水面

或者夾雜泡沫嘅海浪

or a wave cresting with foam.

On average, a piece this size takes me about,

平均嚟講，一幅咁大嘅作品花我

as you can see, 10 seconds.

好似你睇到咁，10 秒

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

(Applause)

（掌聲）

Really, more like 200 hours, 250 hours for something that size.

認真，呢種尺寸大概花我 200 至 250 個鐘

But I've been drawing ever since I could hold a crayon, really.

但我從我拎得起蠟筆開始 我就一路畫梗畫

My mom was an artist, and growing up,

我媽媽係藝術家

喺我成長裏面 我哋總係成屋擺滿美術用品

we always had art supplies all over the house.

My mother's love of photography

我母親對攝影鍾意到 要去地球最偏遠嘅地區

propelled her to the most remote regions of the earth,

and my family and I were fortunate enough

我同我家人非常好彩

to join and support her on these adventures.

能夠支持同同佢一齊參加呢啲冒險

We rode camels in Northern Africa

我哋喺北非騎駱駝

and mushed on dog sleds near the North Pole.

又喺近北極嘅地方駕狗拉嘅雪橇

In August of 2012, I led my first expedition,

2012 年 8 月，我第一次帶人

帶住一班藝術家同學者 去格陵蘭西北嘅海岸

taking a group of artists and scholars up the northwest coast of Greenland.

My mother was originally supposed to lead this trip.

呢次行程原本由我母親帶

She and I were in the early stages of planning,

行程計劃嘅初期，佢同我都喺個團度

as we had intended to go together,

我哋仲打算一齊去

when she fell victim to a brain tumor.

但佢患上咗腦瘤

The cancer quickly took over her body and mind,

癌症迅速擴散，影響到佢嘅身體同個腦

and she passed away six months later.

半年後佢就去世

During the months of her illness, though,

不過，喺佢病緊嘅幾個月裡面

her dedication to the expedition never wavered, and I made a promise

佢為遠征隊所付出嘅從來無動搖過

我亦承諾要幫佢完成最後一程

to carry out her final journey.

My mother's passion for the Arctic

我母親對北極嘅熱情 喺格陵蘭嘅經驗裏面不斷重現

echoed through my experience in Greenland,

and I felt the power

我感受到風景嘅脆弱同力量

and the fragility of the landscape.

The sheer size of the icebergs

以及冰山規模之大點樣震撼人心

is humbling.

The ice fields are alive with movement and sound

冰原有生命

佢會移動同發出聲音

in a way that I never expected.

係我從來無想像過嘅

I expanded the scale of my compositions

我之後擴大我嘅創作規模

to give you that same sense of awe that I experienced.

令你哋都可以感受我經過嘅震撼

Yet, while the grandeur of the ice is evident,

雖然冰高貴嘅特質顯而易見

so, too, is its vulnerability.

但同時冰好脆弱

From our boat,

喺船上面

I could see the ice sweating under the unseasonably warm sun.

我見到冰喺異常溫暖嘅陽光下出汗

We had a chance to visit many of the Inuit communities in Greenland

我哋睇到格陵蘭島好多因紐特人嘅社區

that now face huge challenges.

正面臨著巨大嘅挑戰

The locals spoke to me of vast areas of sea ice

當地人同我講大範圍嘅海冰 已經唔再好似以前咁結冰

that are no longer freezing over as they once did.

And without ice, their hunting and harvesting grounds

冇咗冰，獵物或者農作物收成 都大大減少

are severely diminished,

threatening their way of life and survival.

威脅住啲人嘅生活同生存空間

The melting glaciers in Greenland

格陵蘭島融化梗嘅冰川 係其中一個大因素令海平面上升

are one of the largest contributing factors to rising sea levels,

which have already begun to drown

海平面上升已經開始淹沒 世界上面一啲地勢低嘅島嶼

some of our world's lowest-lying islands.

One year after my trip to Greenland, I visited the Maldives,

我去完格陵蘭島一年之後

我去咗馬爾代夫

the lowest and flattest country in the entire world.

一個世界上最低同最平坦嘅國家

While I was there, I collected images and inspiration

我喺嗰度為我嘅新作品收集圖片同靈感

for a new body of work:

drawings of waves lapping on the coast of a nation

作品講述海浪拍打一個國家嘅海岸

一個可能喺本世紀末被水淹沒嘅國家

that could be entirely underwater within this century.

Devastating events happen every day

傷害性嘅嘢，不論喺全球同個人層面 每日都發生

on scales both global and personal.

When I was in Greenland,

當我喺格陵蘭島

I scattered my mother's ashes amidst the melting ice.

我將母親嘅骨灰撒喺一片融化嘅冰上面

Now she remains a part of the landscape she loved so much,

宜家，佢成為咗佢最喜愛嘅 景色嘅一部分

even as it, too, passes and takes on new form.

就算景色會變都好

Among the many gifts my mother gave me

喺媽媽畀我嘅咁多份禮物裡面

was the ability to focus on the positive,

我最鍾意嘅係媽媽 教識我睇嘢要睇正面

rather than the negative.

唔好睇負面

My drawings celebrate the beauty of what we all stand to lose.

而我嘅畫，都會讚頌 我哋大家都會失去嘅美

I hope they can serve as records of sublime landscapes in flux,

我希望我嘅作品可以記錄 變幻中嘅壯美景觀

documenting the transition and inspiring our global community

記錄環境變化

同啟發我哋全世界人為未來採取行動

to take action for the future.

Thank you.

多謝

(Applause)

（掌聲）