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2004 偶發: 事件發生現場

Happening: Present Situation, 2004, Kathmandu

 

2004 / 街頭演出、於52個廣播頻道播放聲音 / 演出1小時30分鐘

2004 / performance & sound broadcasted through 52 radio stations/ 1hr 30 mins performance

 

這件現場藝術，或者說，這個真實的事件，發生於2004年。當時，正值尼泊爾內戰方酣之際，每天都有人死亡。4, 11, 16, 21, 56, 102 ...是每日死亡的人數。從1996年開始，由尼泊爾共產黨發動的內戰，一直進行到2006年11月21日，尼泊爾共產黨與政府簽署和平條約結束內戰為止，總計約13000人死於這場戰爭。

 

藝術家阿許米娜．蘭吉特當時人在首都加德滿都，由於大部分的烽火戰事都發生在加德滿都山谷之外；因此，生活在首都的人們，宛如生活在泡沫之中，好像戰爭並未發生。事實上，首都的日常生活，充斥的是七個反對黨聯盟不斷進行的騷亂，平民百姓和七個學生黨聯盟也加入這個行列，彷彿所有的人都在暴動，而政府 / 國家則拼命對暴動和示威進行鎮壓。2004年，整個國家進入緊急狀態，在街上超過 4 個人以上聚集，就是非法行為，隨時可能遭到逮捕。在這樣的情況下，藝術家和全尼泊爾共52個電台合作，在這個特定的時間，播放藝術家提供的，以哀悼死傷者的哭泣與吶喊為主要內容的聲音，長達一個小時。同一時間，號召七個反對黨聯盟、七個學生黨聯盟、平民百姓和她的學生，在這一個小時裡，一起親身參與，共同擔任「觀演者」（spect-actors），完成這場無法分辨是現實還是藝術的事件。

 

藝術家在這件現場藝術（live art）中，以現實世界為場景，提供一個情境，以真實的群眾為觀演者，逼迫參與者意識到生活裡的暴力與戰爭的殘酷。同時，啟動參與者在平等的基礎上，以差異主體的地位進行認識及詮釋的真實事件。

 

This is a live art, or more specifically, an actual event that took place in 2004. During that time, Nepal was in civil war that was causing people to die every day; “4, 11, 16, 21, 56, 102,” these were the numbers of fatalities happening each day. The Nepalese Civil War was ignited by the Communist Party of Nepal in 1996. The war ended on November 21st, 2006 when the Communist Party of Nepal signed a peace treaty with the government. About 13,000 people were killed during this war.

 

Artist Ashmina Ranjit was in Kathmandu during the war, and most of the conflicts were taking place outside of the valley that the capital city was in; therefore, those that were in the capital felt like they were in a bubble and lived their day to day life as if the war wasn’t happening. However, the reality was that endless commotions were provoked by seven counter-party groups inside the capital, and those involved included civilians and seven student groups. It appeared like everyone was involved in riots, and the government/state was working aggressively to suppressed the riots and protests. In 2004, the entire country entered into a state of emergency, and it became illegal for groups of more than 4 people to gather in public, and anyone doing so would likely be arrested. Under such circumstances, Ashmina Ranjit began working with 52 radio stations in Nepal to broadcast contents provided by the artist at set times. The broadcasts consisted of hour-long recordings of crying and screaming to mourn the dead. The seven counter-party groups, the seven student groups, civilians, and students of the artist were invited to personal take part in the broadcasts; they collectively served as “spect-actors” and completed this event, which was difficult to categorize as reality or art.

 

For this live art piece, the artist provided a scenario set in the real world, with real people playing the role of spect-actors. It forced the participants to realize the cruelty behind violence in life and war. At the same time, it was an actual event that put the participants with different subjectivities on an equal position to learn and to try to explain.

迷陷

Caught up

 

2006 / 錄像裝置 / 10分17秒

2006 / video installation/ 10 mins 17 sec in loop

 

從1996年2月到2006年11月和平條約簽訂為止，尼泊爾歷經十餘年的內戰。2006年，藝術家正在紐約哥倫比亞大學攻讀碩士課程。

 

某日，她和師長、友人一起到紐約唐人街附近的公園閒逛，正巧看見當地華人社群遛鳥社交的情景。同行的友人，對籠中鳥的歌聲發出讚嘆；然而，卻引起阿許米娜翻騰的思緒。人在紐約的她，思及自己的家鄉，戰火雖熄，各式牽涉集體未來的議程，也開始掀起新的爭辯。目睹籠中鳥與籠外鳥互相交頭接耳的景象，不禁對個人的生存處境進行映射想像。

 

藝術家自述：「自古以來，恐懼一直是自由的最大障礙。恐懼是隨著時間的流逝而被建構出來的，目的在於維持強者對弱者的特權。強者對弱者所造成的潛意識、心靈和靈魂的暴力，具有強大的破壞性，以致於，需要幾代人才能消亡。這就是為什麼我們被告知，那隻可憐的鳥如果被解放就無法生存。我關心的既不是關在籠子裡的階段，也不是關乎自由的狀態，而是一個人的焦慮壓倒了個體的完整、尊嚴，甚至存在的空間。......我的工作是關於中間空間，那個自由卻又不真正自由的門廊空間。」

 

在中心與邊緣之間，存在更多的是「在之間」的空間，或者說，「第三空間」。生命中經歷的進退維谷，正是超越的時刻。超越內 / 外、中心 / 邊緣的另類思考，直指差異主體皆平等的表述時刻。

 

Nepal endured more than a decade of civil war that lasted from February of 1996 till a peace treaty was signed in November of 2006. In 2006, Ashmina Ranjit was a graduate school student at the Columbia University in New York.

 

She was strolling through a park near Chinatown in New York with some friends on day and saw some people in the local Chinese community engaging in the social activity of “bird walking.” The friends that she was with praised the caged birds for the sounds they were making, which sparked a series of thoughts in Ashmina. While in New York, she was missing home, and although the war had ended back in Nepal, various issues related to the nation’s collective future were prompting new debates. In seeing the caged birds interacting with other birds on the outside, she began to reflect on the reality that she was in.

 

In the words of Ashmina, “Fear has always been the greatest deterrent of freedom since ancient times. Fear is formed as time passes, and its objective is to maintain the authority of the strong over the weak. The violence that the strong has caused on the subconscious, the spirit, and the soul of the weak is intensively damaging, and it could take generations to dissipate. This is why we’ve been told that if a poor caged bird is freed, it will not be able to survive. I am not concerned about the period of being caged, nor do I care about being free. My attention is on how a person’s anxiety could suppress the person as whole, the person’s dignity, and even his/her dwelling space...My job focuses on the in-between space, a space that is a corridor, where there’s freedom but is not completely free.”

 

Between the center and at the margin is a larger space that sits at the “in-between,” or it could be thought of as the “third space.” The place of Limbo experienced in life marks a transcendental moment. It transcends beyond what’s internal or external and is outside of the framework of being at the center or at the margin. It refers directly to when different subjects are equal.

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