What Does Poverty Look Like on a Plate? | Huiyi Lin | TED

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: Esther Lam

Poverty is really linked to so many things in life.

貧窮實際上與生活中的 許多事物有關。

Because it is not just an economic phenomenon.

因為它不只是個經濟現象，

It’s not just a social phenomenon.

也不只是個社會現象。

It's an individual and a family.

它關乎個人，也關乎家庭。

It's at the base of really what it means to be human

它是人類存在的根本，

and how we think about human rights.

也是我們如何思考人權的基礎。

My name is Huiyi Lin.

我的名字是林惠儀。

I'm an artist with Chow and Lin.

我是「趙與林」的藝術家。

I've been creating a project called "The Poverty Line"

過去十四年間，我和我的搭擋趙峰

for the past 14 years with my partner, Stefen Chow.

一直投入在創作 「貧困線」這個計畫。

I calculated the per-person per-day rate of the national poverty line in China.

我計算了中國每人每日的貧窮線標準。

We then went to the local markets to purchase food items

接著我們帶著這樣的金額， 去當地的市場購買食物。

with that amount of money.

Stefen photographed the food on local newspapers,

趙峰把那些食物 放在當地報紙上拍照，

showing what poverty looks like on a plate.

展示貧窮在盤子裡的模樣。

The poverty line tries to understand

「貧困線」是在試圖了解

and look at a very simple question:

並探討一個非常簡單的問題：

what does it mean to be poor?

什麼是貧窮？

We're looking at it from the angle of food choices,

我們是從食物選擇的角度來看貧窮，

which would be available for somebody living at the poverty line of a country.

即一個生活在某國貧窮線上的人， 能選擇什麼樣的食物。

When we talk about choices,

當我們談論選擇時，

we also need to understand the scope in which we are able to make choices.

我們也需要理解選擇的範圍。

And that really changes the way that we can behave,

這範圍影響了我們的行為方式，

the way that we relate to each other,

影響了我們如何與他人互動，

the way that we see each other

影響了我們如何看待彼此，

and the way that we can work together.

以及我們如何合作。

When we first created the project, we didn't even know what it was.

一開始創作這個計畫時， 我們甚至不知道它是什麼。

It was kind of just a way of communicating between the two of us,

它有點像是我們兩人 之間的一種交流方式，

a way of extending that discussion about what poverty means.

也是延續有關貧窮意義討論的一種方法。

But when we started releasing the photographs online

但當我們開始在網路上釋出照片時，

and we saw reactions coming from people in the US,

我們看到來自美國、 歐洲、俄羅斯的反應，

from people in Europe and people in Russia,

and then later on, only much later on, people in China themselves,

過了很久之後，才看到 中國人自己的反應。

whether it was right, whether it was too little,

無論是覺得這些食物 對不對、是否太少、

whether it looks good, whether it looks fresh,

看起來好不好、新不新鮮、

whether it wasn't as what they expected.

是否不如他們的預期。

We found that different people have different responses

我們發現不同的人對於同樣 一組照片會有不同的反應。

to the same set of photographs.

And it was very strange.

這讓我們感到非常奇怪，真的是出乎意料。

It was really unexpected.

There is no policy report I could have ever written

我從未寫過任何政策報告 能夠產生這樣的回應。

that would have generated this kind of response.

For me, that was supposed to be a very objective way

對我來說，這本來應該是一種非常客觀 的方式來看待貧窮的問題，

of looking at poverty,

but yet it became very subjective

但它卻變得非常主觀， 因為人們產生了聯繫，

in the way that people connected

and felt emotional or very deeply personal

並且對我們所呈現的食物 感到情緒化或有深刻的個人感受。

about the food that we were presenting.

We all have reactions, basically to food,

基本上，大家都會對食物有反應，

because it is a daily unifying human ritual.

因為吃本來就是人類 日常要進行的儀式。

That kind of very visceral,

那種非常發自內心、 本能式的反應讓我感到很驚訝，

instinctive reaction was something that surprised me,

but later on became a very meaningful part

但後來卻成為這項作品吸引人們的重要部分。

of how the work engages people.

So we expanded the concept to different places.

因此我們把這個概念 擴大到不同的地方。

We photographed what daily food choices at the poverty line looks like

我們拍攝了世界各地 貧困線上的每日食物選擇，

all over the world,

and we ultimately covered 38 countries and territories

最後，我們擴展到了六大洲的 三十八個國家及地區。

across six continents.

Poverty is at the base of many issues that we see today,

現今我們看到的許多問題， 起因都與貧窮有關，

and it will also be affected by many of the trends

貧窮也會受到許多趨勢的影響，

that we see in climate change,

包括與氣候變遷、 衝突、移民有關的趨勢，

in conflict, in migration,

and many crises, whether man-made or natural.

以及許多人為或大自然的危機。

Our photographs don't change that, but they do prompt conversations.

我們的照片無法改變這些， 但確實能引發對話，

"The Poverty Line" images have sparked policy conversations

「貧困線」的影像引發了關於 政策的對話，也促進了新的研究。

and prompted new research.

Working in policy or working in economic frameworks,

在政策或經濟框架中工作時，

there is a tendency to look at the broad strokes,

通常傾向會去看整體狀況，

at the macro view,

看的是宏觀，

but it really depends on what is the local context,

但其實地方背景不同， 狀況就會不同，

and it's not something in the hands of somebody else.

且並不是掌握在別人手中。

It really is, you know, the next person beside us,

重點是我們身邊的人， 我們自己社區中的人。

the people in our own communities.

We need to understand that we are all part of the same system

我們需要知道，我們都是 同一個系統的一部分，

and we all play a role in it.

我們也都有自己的角色。

"The Poverty Line" is really about bridging the gaps

「貧困線」的重點其實 是在減少我們認知的落差，

in our understanding, making us very curious,

引發我們的好奇心， 並產生動力想去了解更多。

also motivated to want to understand more.

Because there are so many things which really bind us together,

因為，有好多事物 將我們連結在一起，

and that really changes how we view the world,

而那真的會改變我們看世界的角度、

how we view decision making,

看待決策的角度，以及看待周圍的人的角度。

and how we view the people around us.