Shantell Martin: How drawing can set you free | TED

譯者: Fatina Tsai 審譯者: Amanda Chu

So here we are.

於是，我們在這裡相見了

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

我現在在家，我相信你們很多人也是

And we've all begun to understand

這段時間，我們開始意識到

how our relationship with ourselves,

我們跟自己、跟其他人 跟我們所存在的這個空間的關係

with each other

and the spaces we exist in

can deeply impact our sense of identity and purpose.

都深深影響著我們的認同感和使命感

So much has dramatically changed.

很多事都產生了戲劇性的變化

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

有著前所未有的距離感

But what if I told you

但如果我告訴你

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

你可以找到一個方法 從心出發，然後透過你的手

to reconnect again,

重新找到連結

and that through this practice and embracing this cause,

透過這個練習，並接受這個信念

I could help you to recalibrate your mind

我可以幫你重新調整心態

so that you could explore this new reality with joy,

讓你可以開開心心、保持熱情

enthusiasm, imagination and hope?

充滿想像力和希望地 探索這個嶄新的現實生活

And all it would take is a simple pen.

你只需要一支筆

To get you there,

在那之前

let's go back to the beginning.

讓我們先回到最初

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

身為一個在倫敦東南區 國民住宅長大的孩子

I was an outsider.

我像是個外人

I'm the oldest of six kids,

我是六個小孩裡的老大

and all of my siblings look very English:

弟妹們看起來都很「英國」

blond hair, blue eyes, very cute.

金髮藍眼睛，超卡哇伊

And then there was me:

而我呢

half Nigerian, brown, with an Afro.

有一半奈及利亞血統、棕色爆炸頭

So what happens when you look different

當你看起來跟身旁的人不一樣

and you feel different,

感覺不一樣

and in many ways, start to think differently

在各方面開始有不一樣的想法時

from everyone and everything around you?

會發生什麼事呢？

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

你要如何找到方法

來帶你逃離黑暗、種族及同性戀歧視

and very lonely place?

和孤單的地方？

This is where the pen comes in.

這時候筆就出場了

I started to draw.

我開始畫畫

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

如你們所見，我拿著這枝筆

and it knows where it's going.

它知道自己要往哪去

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

我已經很熟練地知道怎麼跟上它

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

我做的第一件事是跟隨著這條線

and I drew myself out of a culture

讓它帶我衝出文化的藩籬

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

一個只會告訴我什麼不能做的文化

I trusted my pen,

我信任我的筆

and it led me to Central Saint Martin's,

它帶我到了中央聖馬丁學院

a very fancy art school in London,

那是倫敦頂尖的藝術學院

where I graduated top of my year.

我是全年級第一名畢業的

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

但是，我很快就意識到 倫敦沒有我的立足之地

because whether you wish to believe it or not,

因為不管你想不想相信

England is still a country that is rooted and functions within

英國依舊在根深蒂固的階級制度中運作

the class system.

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

身為來自勞工家庭的 年輕黑人同性戀女藝術家

I didn't stand a chance.

我沒有任何機會

So I left London and I moved to Japan,

於是我離開倫敦，搬到了日本

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

在那裡沒有人會問，我到底是從哪來的

I was just another gaijin,

我只是一個「gaijin」

which, ironically, means "outsider."

很諷刺地，也是「外人」的意思

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

我沉浸在那個製品和手工藝 有同等重要性的文化裡

where people perfect their craft over generations.

他們是一代接一代地精進工藝

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

那是一種精準掌握時間和空間的文化

so that artists can truly create with freedom.

所以藝術家們擁有充分的創作自由

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

我發現了一個不會讓我生氣的地方

Tokyo hadn't wronged me in any way.

東京沒有虧待過我

I could no longer create with anger

我無法再利用憤怒或痛苦

or out of pain.

來進行創作

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

於是我得勇敢地找其他靈感來創作

And what I found is this incredible tool

我發現了一個不可思議的工具

transcended a line on paper.

讓紙上的線條不再只是線條

I found this thing

我發現這個東西

that connected my head to my heart

把我的腦子連結到我的心和我的手

and my hand to everything.

然後再連結到任何東西

I could see the world in new ways.

我可以用一個新的角度看這個世界

I found connections in corners

在每個角落發現我和各種事物的連結

and the solutions to problems I never knew existed.

也發現了我從沒想到過的 解決問題的方法

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

好像這個世界的光明面和黑暗面

could now be seen.

都攤在眼前

And just by seeing it,

只要看得見它

there was no longer any fear.

就不再感到害怕

It's like my pen was a flashlight,

我的筆就像個手電筒

and the unknown was still there,

那些未知依舊存在

but it wasn't scary.

卻不再令人恐懼

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

在日本住了五年 全心專注在我的技藝後

I felt like I needed a new challenge.

我覺得我需要新的挑戰

So I moved to New York,

所以我又搬去紐約

這就是藝術家會做的事對吧？

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

You move to the greatest city in the world

搬到一個全世界最棒的城市

that has the ability

在那裡你可以隱沒在人群中

to make you feel completely and utterly invisible.

沒有人會注意到你

This is when I began to truly ask myself,

這時候我才真的開始問自己

"Who are you?"

你是誰？

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

我一早醒來做的第一件事

I would meditate on this.

就是冥想這個問題

And with this question in mind,

我邊想著這個問題

I kept drawing.

邊畫畫

I followed the line.

我就這樣跟著這條線

I let it lead the way.

讓它引導我

The process of picking up a pen,

拿起任何人都可以輕易拿到的一支筆

something everyone has access to,

the act of giving myself permission to let go

允許自己放下所有思緒、恐懼、不安

of all thoughts, all fears, insecurities --

anything that would get in the way

以及任何會阻擋我全然做我自己的一切

of allowing myself to be completely me --

that became my way of experiencing freedom.

這成了我體驗自由的方式

When I got to New York,

我剛到紐約的時候

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

不想照著藝術界的規則走

I continued my practice as an outsider.

我就繼續當個外人

I kept drawing.

只是不停地畫畫

Curiosity became the ink for my pen,

好奇心就是我的顏料

and I continued to dive deeper.

我不停地繼續投入其中

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

時間過去，我開始為自己創造一個 大膽、自信的空間

a space that was all my own.

一個完全屬於我自己的空間

Initially, it was just my bedroom.

一開始，那只是我的房間

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

但後來那個房間被登上了紐約時報

and suddenly, I was being seen and known

突然間，我所創造出來的世界

for this world I had created.

讓人注意到我、認識我

Since then,

從那時候開始

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

我和一些最獨特的 藝術家、機構和藝術空間

institutions and spaces,

共同創作

from the screens of Times Square,

從時代廣場的大螢幕

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

到紐約市立芭蕾舞團 那些令人讚嘆的藝術家系列

where I interviewed a number of dancers.

我訪問了一些舞者

Their stories and words became the foundation

以他們的故事和敘述為基礎

of over 30 drawings and artworks,

完成了超過 30 幅畫作和藝術品

which took over the promenade walls,

展示在步道的牆上

windows and floors.

櫥窗上，甚至是地板上

For a long time,

有很長的一段時間

I wanted to create a space for contemplation and poetry.

我想要創造出一個沉思和詩歌的空間

And in 2019,

2019 年的時候

I was given the opportunity to do just that

總督島信託給我機會

by the Trust of Governor's Island.

來完成這個心願

They provided me with the perfect canvas

他們提供了一個前身為軍方教堂的空間

in the form of a former military chapel.

讓我可以盡情的揮灑

Meet "The May Room."

這就是「願之屋」

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

外牆上佈滿了 受島上歷史所啟發的畫

you walk inside, you take your shoes off,

你走進去，把鞋脫掉

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

地板上那像個迷宮的畫

that brings you back to you.

會帶你找回自己

It's an invitation to become calm.

希望你可以沉澱一下

And this allows you to see phrases on the wall.

你還會在牆上看到一些字句

"May you be wise."

「願你有智慧」

"May you sleep soundly at night."

「願你們一夜好眠」

"May we save trees."

「願我們能拯救樹木」

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

「願你」、「願你們」、「願我們」

And these phrases seem like they're rising from you

這些字句就好像是 從你們的腦子裡冒出來的

or falling into you.

或降臨到你們腦子裡的

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

這些線條就像是一種語言

a language that has unfolded much like life.

如人生一般的展開

And when there has been silence,

寂靜難耐時

I've sought connection through conversation,

我會透過對話和發問來尋找連結

asking questions to push through the discomfort.

設法度過這個令人不安的狀況

Drawing has taught me how to create my own rules.

畫畫教會了我如何制定我自己的規則

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

還教我不要只是看這個東西是什麼

but what can be.

而是它可以成為什麼

And where there are broken systems,

當制度有所殘缺

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

我們可以重新打造 讓所有的人都可以從中受益

instead of just a select few.

而不是只獨利某些族群

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

畫畫還教了我如何跟世界連結

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

我也透過線條的語言

is not the importance of being seen,

了解到重點不是被看見

but rather the gift of seeing that we give to others

而是我們送給他人 讓他們「看見」的這份禮物

and how true freedom is the ability to see.

以及真正的自由是有能力「看見」

And I don't mean that literally,

我的意思不是真的要你去看什麼

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

視覺只是看的方法之一

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

我的意思是要你們經歷完整的世界

maybe even more so during the most challenging moments

而且在最艱難的時刻更是要做到

like the one we face today.

就像我們現在所面臨的狀況

I'm Shantell Martin.

我是香特爾‧馬丁

I draw.

我畫畫

And I invite you to pick up a pen

現在我想請你們也拿起一支筆

and see where it takes you.

看看它會帶你到哪兒去

(Music)

（音樂）