Your body is my canvas | Alexa Meade

Translator: Kaspar Lam Reviewer: Bighead Ge

You may want to take a closer look.

仔細睇下

There's more to this painting than meets the eye.

呢幅畫其實唔只表面咁簡單

And yes, it's an acrylic painting of a man,

雖然，呢幅係畫一個男人嘅亞加力畫

but I didn't paint it on canvas.

但係我冇畫喺畫布上

I painted it directly on top of the man.

我直接畫喺嗰個男人身上

What I do in my art is I skip the canvas altogether,

我唔用畫布

and if I want to paint your portrait,

如果我想畫你嘅肖像

I'm painting it on you, physically on you.

我會直接畫喺你身上

That also means you're probably going to end up

即係話你會被搽上好多顏料 包括你嘅耳仔

with an earful of paint,

because I need to paint your ear on your ear.

因為我需要喺你嘅耳仔上面畫你嘅耳仔

Everything in this scene, the person, the clothes,

呢度所有嘢︰人、衫、凳、牆 全都油上一層顏料

chairs, wall, gets covered in a mask of paint

that mimics what's directly below it,

咁樣係為咗直接模仿人同物件

and in this way, I'm able to take a three-dimensional scene

透過呢一種方式

我就可以將一個立體環境整到平面畫咁

and make it look like a two-dimensional painting.

I can photograph it from any angle,

就算我由唔同角度影相 出嚟嘅效果都仍然係平面咁

and it will still look 2D.

There's no Photoshop here.

Photoshop 我都冇用過

This is just a photo

呢張係我其中一幅立體畫嘅相

of one of my three-dimensional paintings.

You might be wondering how I came up with this idea

你可能會問︰

點解我會有呢啲諗法將人變成畫

of turning people into paintings.

But originally, this had nothing to do

但其實一開始嘅時候

我冇諗過對人或者顏料做啲乜嘢

with either people or paint.

It was about shadows.

最初諗法只係同影有關

I was fascinated with the absence of light,

我覺得冇光線呢樣嘢好吸引

and I wanted to find a way that I could give it materiality

我想搵一種方法可以令影實物化

and pin it down before it changed.

喺影改變之前將佢定型

I came up with the idea of painting shadows.

於我就想畫低啲影

I loved that I could hide within this shadow

我好想可以喺影裏面 收埋油上咗顏料嘅我

my own painted version,

and it would be almost invisible

令我可以幾乎隱形

until the light changed, and all of a sudden

直至光線唔同咗，然後突然間 我嘅影會出現喺光線之下

my shadow would be brought to the light.

I wanted to think about what else I could put shadows on,

我想睇下仲有咩地方我可以畫影嘅

and I thought of my friend Bernie.

然後我諗起我朋友 Bernie

But I didn't just want to paint the shadows.

但我唔只想畫影，我仲想做到加強

I also wanted to paint the highlights

and create a mapping on his body in greyscale.

同埋喺佢身上用灰階顏色畫

I had a very specific vision of what this would look like,

我好清楚作品會係點嘅樣

and as I was painting him,

所以當我畫緊佢嘅時候 我好小心跟足我嘅構思去畫

I made sure to follow that very closely.

But something kept on flickering before my eyes.

但有啲嘢一直喺我眼前閃

I wasn't quite sure what I was looking at.

我當時唔係好清楚我睇到嘅係咩嘢

And then when I took that moment to take a step back,

然後當我褪後去睇嗰陣 神奇嘅嘢就發生咗

magic.

I had turned my friend into a painting.

我將我嘅朋友變成咗一幅畫

I couldn't have foreseen that

我最初諗唔到當我畫影嘅時候

when I wanted to paint a shadow,

I would pull out this whole other dimension,

我會將另一個空間成個帶咗出嚟 然後再將個人融返入去

that I would collapse it,

that I would take a painting and make it my friend

估唔到我畫畫會變成畫我嘅朋友 甚至將朋友擺返落畫裡邊

and then bring him back to a painting.

I was a little conflicted though,

我心裡面有啲矛盾

because I was so excited about what I'd found,

因為一方面我為到 我自己發現嘅嘢覺得興奮

but I was just about to graduate from college

但另一方面，我嗰時啱啱大學畢業

with a degree in political science,

攞咗政治學學位

and I'd always had this dream

以前成日夢想去華盛頓做政府工

of going to Washington, D.C.,

and sitting at a desk

and working in government.

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

Why did this have to get in the way of all that?

為咩我會提起呢件事呢？

I made the tough decision

係因為我做咗個好艱難嘅決定

of going home after graduation

決定畢業之後放棄到美國國會工作

and not going up to Capitol Hill,

but going down to my parents' basement

反而返咗去我父母屋企嘅地下室學畫畫

and making it my job to learn how to paint.

I had no idea where to begin.

我當時唔知道邊度入手

The last time I'd painted,

對上一次我畫畫嘅時候係 16 歲

I was 16 years old at summer camp,

當時喺夏令營裡面

and I didn't want to teach myself how to paint

當時我唔想透過抄襲以前大師作品

by copying the old masters

or stretching a canvas

或係攤開畫布反複咁喺畫布上面畫 嚟自學畫畫

and practicing over and over again on that surface,

because that's not what this project was about for me.

因為對我嚟講，畫畫唔應該係咁

It was about space and light.

畫畫應該係關於空間同光線

My early canvases ended up being

我早期嘅畫布都係啲你諗唔到嘅嘢

things that you wouldn't expect to be used as canvas,

like fried food.

就好似用煎炸食物做畫布咁

It's nearly impossible

所以係幾乎冇可能 將顏料搽上雞蛋嘅油脂度

to get paint to stick to the grease in an egg.

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

Even harder was getting paint to stick

更加難去將顏料黐喺柚子嘅果酸度

to the acid in a grapefruit.

It just would erase my brush strokes

因為果酸只會抹走筆觸嘅顏料

like invisible ink.

就好似隱形墨水一樣

I'd put something down, and instantly it would be gone.

當我畫一筆，顏料就咁唔見咗

And if I wanted to paint on people,

假如我想喺人上面畫…

well, I was a little bit embarrassed

我會帶人嚟我嘅工作室 畀佢哋知道我嘅日子喺地下室過

to bring people down into my studio

and show them that I spent my days in a basement

畀佢哋知道我喺多士上面油顏料

putting paint on toast.

但咁樣我會覺得尷尬

It just seemed like it made more sense

似乎喺我身上練習畫畫更加適當

to practice by painting on myself.

One of my favorite models actually ended up being

其中一個我最鍾意嘅模特兒 係一位退休老人

a retired old man

who not only didn't mind sitting still

佢不但唔介意坐定定唔郁

and getting the paint in his ears,

由得顏料搽喺佢耳仔裏面

but he also didn't really have much embarrassment

而且仲冇因為我帶佢出去公眾場所

about being taken out into very public places

for exhibition,

好似地鐵咁——展出而尷尬

like the Metro.

I was having so much fun with this process.

成個過程中我有好多樂趣

I was teaching myself how to paint in all these different styles,

我教自己點樣用唔同風格畫

and I wanted to see what else I could do with it.

同時我想知道我仲有咩可以試

I came together with a collaborator, Sheila Vand,

我今日帶咗一位拍檔，Sheila Vand

and we had the idea of creating paintings

我哋都覺得畫 可以喺唔平凡嘅介面上面畫

in a more unusual surface,

and that was milk.

嗰個係牛奶

We got a pool. We filled it with milk.

我哋搵嚟咗一個水池

我哋將牛奶倒入去

We filled it with Sheila. And I began painting.

Sheila 都走埋入去 然後我開始畫

And the images were always

畫出嚟嘅嘢永遠都係意想不到

completely unexpected in the end,

because I could have a very specific image

雖然我腦裏面有一幅好確切嘅圖

about how it would turn out,

好清楚會畫成點

I could paint it to match that,

我亦會跟著幅圖去畫出嚟

but the moment that Sheila laid back into the milk,

但係當 Sheila 用背脊 浸入牛奶嘅一刻

everything would change.

所有嘢都變

It was in constant flux,

啲嘢流動緊

and we had to, rather than fight it, embrace it,

而我哋用「既來之，則安之」 嘅方式處理

唔係要同牛奶抗衡

see where the milk would take us

而係順著牛奶嘅流動作出修補

and compensate to make it even better.

令幅畫更加好

Sometimes, when Sheila would lay down in the milk,

有時 Sheila 成個人浸入牛奶

it would wash all the paint off of her arms,

牛奶會沖走佢手臂嘅顏料

and it might seem a little bit clumsy,

令到睇起嚟有啲笨拙

but our solution would be, okay, hide your arms.

我哋嘅解決方法係，將佢嘅手臂都遮住

And one time, she got so much milk in her hair

仲有一次，佢嘅頭髮吸咗好多牛奶

that it just smeared all the paint off of her face.

令面上面嘅顏料通通都溶咗

All right, well, hide your face.

所以我嗰陣話︰ 「好，咁嘅話，將你塊臉遮著。」

And we ended up with something far more elegant

最後我哋嘅作品比當初構思嘅更加靚

than we could have imagined,

even though this is essentially the same solution

呢個方法同小朋友因為畫唔到手 所以將手畫到插咗入袋一樣

that a frustrated kid uses when he can't draw hands,

just hiding them in the pockets.

When we started out on the milk project,

當我哋開始牛奶計劃時

and when I started out,

我預料唔到我嘅將來

I couldn't have foreseen that I would go

from pursuing my dream in politics

會由我追政治夢、坐喺辦公室工作

and working at a desk

到誤打誤撞發現「影子」呢個概念

to tripping over a shadow

and then turning people into paintings

繼而將人哋變成畫作 喺牛奶池裡面畫人

and painting on people in a pool of milk.

But then again, I guess it's also not unforeseeable

話說回來，我諗

你喺熟識嘅事物裡面 搵到奇怪嘅嘢根本係有可能

that you can find the strange in the familiar,

as long as you're willing to look beyond

只要你唔好剩係望擺喺眼前嘅事物

what's already been brought to light,

that you can see what's below the surface,

而係望事物蘊藏咗嘅嘢 埋藏喺陰影嘅嘢

hiding in the shadows,

and recognize that there can be more there

你會發現更多嘅可能

than meets the eye.

Thank you.

多謝各位

(Applause)

（掌聲）