【藝述心言】牽一線 ‧ 洞人生 / 丘藝藍 【Intimate Portrait】Along the Line / Yau Ngai-lam
（2019年7月）蘋果公司創辦人喬布斯曾說：「現在所發生的點點滴滴是無法串聯起來的，只有在未來回顧今日時，你才會明白它們的關聯。」把點滴串連的是線，而藝術家丘藝藍就憑著「一線」尋找自己的方向。
丘氏曾修讀平面設計，繪畫及版畫是其「老本行」，近年醉心陶瓷，她創作中所映照的人倫關係，就像是一根無形的線。這根線如何開始、如何終結、交善或交惡，就看雙方選擇怎樣連繫。雖然丘藝藍說她有三千煩惱絲（並由此啟發插畫人物三千根子的創作），但她總是能以最簡單的線條表達心中所想。
J：JCCAC
Y：丘藝藍
J：你是怎樣成為藝術家的？設計與藝術的關係是⋯⋯
Y：我不認為自己是一個藝術家，我只是從小就喜歡繪畫，在浩瀚的藝術世界，我還未「嗅米氣」。一開始讀設計是為了謀生，當初也沒有想要向藝術界發展 。後來在職場遇上了一位讀藝術，卻做設計的老闆，因而發現藝術與設計的關係其實非常密切，都注重美感。其後因為全職工作太累了，想要回去讀書，便順理成章選擇讀藝術。
在修讀香港藝術學院與澳洲皇家墨爾本理工大學合辦的課程時，我雖然是主修繪畫，但也有機會接觸陶瓷及版畫等媒介。版畫的做法及想法其實有一點像平面設計。畢業後有幸獲邀參與香港版畫工作室的駐留計劃，於是便慢慢走向藝術領域。
J：對你來說藝術創作最重要的是甚麼？靈感來自哪裡？
Y：創作最重要的是要對自己誠實，遵循你的感覺，而不是市場反應或大眾喜好，這樣作品才會是你的。
我是一個比較感性及敏感的人。我感興趣的主題主要圍繞人，例如：人與人之間的關係、心靈與肉體的關係。其實很多東西是慢慢累積下來的，到你現在回頭看，才驚覺它們的連繫和影響。近來我在香港視覺藝術中心跟紫砂茶壺大師黃美莉老師學習陶瓷，這喚起了從前在香港藝術學院求學時陶藝家黃覺新給我的教導，也許種子在那時候已悄悄埋下。物以類聚，靈感亦然。
J：版畫、陶瓷及繪畫，哪一種創作形式讓你最喜歡？
Y：目前我最喜歡的是陶瓷，因為它能令你更深入了解自己。你給它多少，它會直接呈現，有點像與自己的身體溝通，讓你會知道自己哪裡不足。陶瓷的可能性很多，既可以是平面又可以是立體；組合性亦很大，能包容不同的物料。
J：你的作品涉獵多種風格與媒介，但「主體」都是這個簡單卻有著自己特色的人形形象，為甚麼會有此選擇？
Y：我認為我會畫及製作這些簡單的人形是因為覺得人本身太複雜，心理投射下，想要把人簡單化。又其實可能只是我懶惰而已（笑）。
J：你參與過的展覽及藝術項目之中哪一個讓你印象最深刻，可以與我們分享嗎？未來有沒有新的計劃？
Y：香港版畫工作室的駐留計劃促成了我的首次個人展覽「一線」，是我到目前為止最重要的里程埤或分水嶺。而後來接連的機會，包括能來到JCCAC，也是靠它的「牽引」。
展覽以線性的物料來貫穿，例如：版畫的絲網印刷、以鐵線製成的球體作品。而「線」也成了展覽的大主題，想要表達人與人之間無形的牽絆。一根線就如一段關係，有很多不同的狀態——打結（糾纏不清）、斷線（不相往來）、交線（相交），都是我們每個人不同的選擇。
未來想舉辦另一個展覽（暫定在七或八月），作為「一線」的延續，但需要一些突破。因此，我沉澱了一段時間去發掘各種可能，亦嘗試了很多不同的創作方法，包括陶瓷、繪畫及混合媒介。我暫時比較滿意的一件作品是以鐵鏽印在紗布上而製成的，此作品記錄早前母親大病一場時為我帶來的一些感受及體會，原來除了身體的病要醫好，心裡的病也要照顧好。創作讓我重新審視病人與身邊的人的觀點，以及自己與家人的關係。
J：由火炭的工作室到JCCAC，兩邊的藝術氛圍給你的感覺有沒有甚麼不同？又是甚麼驅使你繼續藝術創作？
Y：相比起火炭，JCCAC 給我的「警惕性」高一點，會感覺要有所作為，才能對自己及這個地方有所交代。這可能是因為來這裡的機會更難得，與在火炭的條件並不一樣，我也不想白白浪費這空間。坦白說我不是一個能因興趣而不顧一切地去追求藝術的人。藝術之路很漫長，要有一定的時間和空間才能遠征，因此我很慶幸能在這裡成立工作室，讓我有更大的原動力繼續創作。此外，我亦感激多年來遇上的各位老師，例如教我素描的侯紹政老師讓我學習放下；中學老師又讓我領會到在面對附加數的複雜難題時，理解解難的過程比直接得到答案重要。我在不同的老師身上除了獲得豐富的知識，亦學會待人接物等處世之道，畢生受用。
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(2019 July) The co-founder of Apple Computer Inc, Steve Jobs once said, “You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards.” Connecting the dots of her past, artist Yau Ngai-lam treads on a line into the future.
A graphic designer by trade, Yau is a painter and printmaker with a new-found passion in ceramics. Her works are often an analogy between human relationships and an invisible line that ties people together. The ways this analogous thread connects – how it begins and whether it ends amicably or acrimoniously – depend entirely on the two persons at both ends. While the metaphoric Chinese proverb “a person’s hair is their 3,000 strands of trouble” rings true to her (a self-confessed vexation that inspired her character design, Miss Hairy), Yau can always express her thoughts with just the barest of lines.
J: JCCAC
Y: Yau Ngai-lam
J: How did you become an artist? To you, the relationship between design and art is......?
Y: I never considered myself an artist. I have been drawing since I was a child and still find myself miniscule in the infinitely vast world of the arts. I took up design as a means of livelihood and it never occurred to me to carve out a career in the arts. It was only later when I worked under a graphic designer, an art graduate who started his own design business, did I realise the two are closely entwined – a sense of aesthetics is inherent in both. That inspired me later when I was burned out working a full-time job, and decided to call it quits to go back to school. Art seemed to be a natural choice.
I undertook a Bachelor of Arts (Fine Art) programme co-organised by Hong Kong Art School and RMIT University. Though I majored in painting, I also dabbled in other mediums, such as ceramics and printmaking. In fact, printmaking is a bit like design in its practices and modes of thinking. After graduation, I had the good fortune of being offered an artist residency at Hong Kong Open Printshop and the rest is history.
J: What is most important to your artistic creations? Where do you get your inspiration from?
Y: In making arts, the most important thing is to be true to yourself, to follow your heart rather than fulfilling market expectations or catering to popular taste. Only then would your work speak for you.
I am a rather sentimental and sensitive person. My areas of interest invariably involve people: interpersonal relationships and the connections between soul and flesh. In fact, many a little makes a mickle, and you only discover, belatedly and surprisingly, their ties and mutual influences in hindsight. Taking up courses by Yixing Clay Teapot master Wong May-lee at Hong Kong Visual Arts Centre recently, I reminisced of the teachings of ceramic artist Wong Kwok-sun, Sunny, in my days at Hong Kong Art School. I suppose the seeds were sown back then. Like attracts like, so do inspirations.
J: Which creative medium do you prefer, printmaking, ceramics or painting?
Y: Currently, it is ceramics, for it helps me to understand myself better. Whatever you feed is what you get. Pottery is like communicating with your own body – you will get to learn about your own inadequacies. Ceramics offers a wealth of possibilities: a ceramic work can be flat or three dimensional; its ability to accommodate different materials means it is also ideal as a component of a composite.
J: Your works encompass a variety of styles and mediums but the “subject” is invariably a simplistic yet highly individualistic human figure. Is there a reason?
Y: I guess I draw and make these simple figures because humans to me are too complicated, and it is probably a bit of psychological projection on my part to make these figures simple. Or perhaps I am just lazy (chuckles)!
J: Which exhibition or art event you participated in left you with the deepest impression? Do you have any new projects on the horizon?
Y: My artist residency at Hong Kong Open Printshop was the catalyst of my first solo exhibition, “The Line”, a milestone and watershed moment in my career. And from then on one thing led to another, including my residency here at JCCAC. Materials in the form of line were employed throughout — from silkscreen-printed works to wire mesh balls. In fact, the concept of line is the common thread that runs through the exhibition, the invisible chain that binds people together. Like a relationship, a thread can be fabricated into a variety of shapes at different times: knots (entangled), broken lines (disconnected), and criss-crosses (paths crossed), representing the myriad choices we make in life.
I have plans for another exhibition (to be held in July or August tentatively) as a continuation of “The Line” but I will need to come up with some breakthroughs. For that, I have allowed myself time for my thoughts to sink in, to unearth new possibilities by trying my hands at various creative approaches, such as marrying ceramics with painting and other mixed media. So far, I have come up with one work that I am happy with: rustic prints on gauze, a work that documents the time when my mother fell gravely ill and my feelings and understandings gleaned from this episode. Healing is as much about the soul as the mind. Through this work, I was able to re-examine issues from the perspectives of a patient and those around him/her alongside my relationship with my own family.
J: Moving from your workshop in Fotan, how do you compare it to JCCAC in terms of artistic ambience? And what keeps you motivated in making arts?
Y: Compared to Fotanian, I am more “alert” at JCCAC and have an urge to achieve something here. While the terms were more lenient at Fotanian, the opportunity at JCCAC did not come easy and I would not want to waste this precious space. To be frank, I am not a person who pursues the arts at all costs for the sake of interest. The road of the arts is a long and winding one, only made easier and sustainable with a place and time like this. I count myself extremely lucky to be able to set up my studio here where I can continue to draw creative
strength from. I am indebted to all my mentors and teachers who have helped me along the way: Hau Siu-ching who taught me to sketch and the art of letting go; my maths teacher in secondary school who enlightened me about how solving a complex mathematical problem has more to do with the process than the answer itself. The many invaluable lessons – the ways to treat people and handle things –
learned from each one of them will always be my compass in life.
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