Being 3 Interview 在3访谈｜英国驻留艺术家Sara Willett

离英国艺术家Sara Willett离开中国的时间已经有6周有余了，她身上携带的个人强烈的活力与英国人的理性秩序拧成了一股独特的个人气质，而更为值得一提的是，她源于欧普道路的视觉经验与个人身体力行的“类似于工匠般的行动方式”，让我们充分的体会到了她个人的方法论与绘画哲学。鉴于这个展览（follow-up Show）是画廊开放国际驻留项目以来，第一个真正意义的驻留后展，北京的生活环境在艺术家的创作上产生了实实在在的”催化剂“般的影响。我们特别整理出了10个关于她在中国期间的问答，共同感受一下这位明朗、富有活力的英国女艺术家的世界吧。

访谈人：baoxi

1. Baoxi:你来到中国以后，感受到中国与英国当代艺术氛围最大的区别是什么？

Baoxi: What, in your view, is the biggest difference of contemporary art atmosphere between China and the UK after yourstay in China?

Sara Willett：我可能不够有资格回答这一问题，因为我仅仅在北京呆了很短一段时间。一个最明显的区别就是，我惊讶的看到中国艺术家创作的（工作室）空间是如此之大，这和我在伦敦看到的艺术家工作室有强烈的反差。虽然，仅仅通过工作室来对比两个国家有点相对表面了，但是这涉及到影响艺术家的作品创作——我在北京看到许多大尺寸的作品。这当然也会涉及到一个我注意到的区别——中国的艺术家有更多的个人主义（倾向），而英国相对来说更加倾向于集体主义。

Sara Willett: I’m probably not qualified toanswer this after such a short period of time in Beijing. One obviousdifference that strikes me, however, is the amount of space to create work thatan artist can enjoy in BJ. The studios I have visited are vast in comparison tothose in London. Although this might seem relatively superficial, it can have ahuge impact on the sort of work created. A lot of the work I have seen here ismonumental in scale. This might also impact on one difference I have noticed -there seems to be a greater sense of individualism in China, whereas In the UKthere is presently a trend towards the collective.

2. Baoxi:你驻留的5周里，遇到最大的困难是什么？

Baoxi: What is the biggest difficulty in the5-week artist in residency?

Sara Willett: 奇怪的是，那些可能是最为困难的部分我反而觉得是非常有趣的。语言，具体来说是我不能够说中文普通话，意味着我需要用其他更为具有创造力的方式去沟通。事实上我是这个区域（塑料三厂附近，南皋路129号）居住的唯一的外国人，这让我在四处走动并且搜集“十元店”（Sara创作的一个作品）素材的时候，显得十分突兀。这种体验让作为一个具有“优越感”的西方人是从未曾经历的。

Sara Willett: It is strange thatprobably the biggest difficulty is also something that I have found veryinteresting. Language, specifically my inability to speak Mandarin, has meantthat I have to find other creative ways to communicate. The fact that I am theonly ‘foreigner’ in this district and something of an oddity as I walk aroundcollecting my Yuanland objects, has meant that I am cast in the role of 'the other’ - something that a privileged Westerner does not oftenexperience.

3. Baoxi:最有意思的经历又是什么？

Baoxi: What is the most interesting experiencehere?

Sara Willett:在这么短暂的时间里，对我（在中国）经历的如此美好的事物做出评判是很难的。在北京，（外国）游人会受到来自从活力到节奏的感官上的冲击，它们即令人迷惑也令人激动。然而，最令我印象深刻的还是这里人们超乎寻常的友善。与此同时，驻留地给我的支持——空间以及留给我专注于创作的时间，都是我作为艺术家所不常享有的奢侈。

Sara Willett: I don’t think there is roomof time to do justice to all the amazing things I have experienced. The sensoryoverload that confronts the visitor to Beijing - its energy and pace of life - isboth bewildering and exciting. The most significant thing that I will take awayhowever, is the incredible hospitality and generosity of the people I have methere. Also the residency has given me the support, space and time to devotesolely to creating work - a luxury that artists do not always enjoy.

4. Baoxi:你的个人陈述中多次强调了提升物品的“地位”，这其中有没有渗透你的人生哲学？

Baoxi: In your statement, you emphasized formany times elevating the "status" of objects. Does that reflect yourphilosophy of life?

Sara Willett:自从杜尚把他的小便池放在大中央宫殿，艺术家就已经开始质疑物体的地位，以及在文化政治语境下什么才被认定是“艺术”。利用熟悉的艺术史背景或者改变物体的尺寸，就可以把物体从卑微的地位提升到一个高度。这样以来，艺术便是一个蜕变，转译和演化的平台，使我们能够从不同的视角看待事物。我的装置“十元店的艺术形式”，通过利用SEM宏观/微观摄影的高度美感，有趣的将便宜和廉价之物提升到了“神奇”的状态。

Sara Willett: Ever since Duchampplaced his urinal in the Grand Central Palace, artist’s have questioned thestatus of objects and in what cultural of political context and something isvalued or considered to be ‘art’. Drawing on familiar art historical tropes ormerely changing the scale can elevate something humble to a heightened stature.In this way art can be a platform for metamorphosis, transformation andevolution, allowing us to view things in a different light. The installation‘Kunstformen der Yuanland’ playfully elevates the status of the cheap and tackyto objects of ‘wonder’, by drawing on the heightened aesthetics of SEMmacro/micro photography.

5. Baoxi:你来中国最大的改变是什么？这有没有影响你的创作？都影响了哪方面？

Baoxi: What is your biggest change inChina? Does that affect your creation? How?

Sara Willett:我在北京待的这些日子，有时是秋意的蓝天，有时整个城市又是沉浸在黄昏般昏暗的严重污染中。我变得开始对这些日子里光的质量感兴趣；特别是当太阳光试图冲破雾霾和夜晚中变得如霓虹闪烁的空气。作品也是这种视觉现象下的一种反应。（呼吸线以及烟囱这些系列）作品便开始反应了这一视觉现象。

Sara Willett: The weeks I have spent inBeijing have presented me with days of blue-skied autumnal beauty, but alsodays of heavy pollution when the city is bathed in crepuscular gloom. Ibecame interested in the quality of light on these days; especially when thesun’s rays struggled to break through the mists and at night when the airbecomes neon infused haze. The work began to respond to this visualphenomenon.

6. Baoxi:你觉得你的绘画是从欧普艺术Op Art继承来的么？有哪些与前辈的不同／革命？

Baoxi: Doyou think your painting inherits from Op Art? What is the difference from thepredecessors and what is the revolution?

Sara Willett: 多数我创作的绘画都是非常细节的、多层次的、碎片化表面的，通过这种方式我探索感知与幻觉。一个明显的区别便是，虽然欧普艺术家诸如布里奇特·赖利，是以几何以及对颜色之间如何作用近乎科学的理解为基础的，我的作品是更加有机体的。我的创作过程即包含了系统化的重复又具有反思的经验，而且通常结果都是难以完全预测、猜想的。我想说的是，比起欧普艺术运动，我的作品更多的应该感谢草间弥生早期的——比如“网”系列。而体现在“刻”这幅作品中的节奏与运动则是在时间与空间上姿势的不断重复。人手很难能够去完成一个如此精确的时空路线的模仿，这也是我正在探索的。我能够想象许多过去被欧普艺术运动所尝试的事物，当今的艺术家正以先进的信息技术来探寻。

Sara Willett: A lot of the paintings Icreate are detailed, multi-layered, fragmented surfaces through which I aim toinvestigate perception and illusion. One key difference however is that whilethe paintings of Op Artists, such as Bridget Riley, are underpinned by geometryand an almost scientific understanding of how colours work together, my work ismore organic. My process consists of both systematic repetition and reflectiveexperience and the results are never entirely predictable or envisaged. I wouldsay that my work owes more to Kusama’s early paintings such as her ’net’ series,than to the op art movement. The rhythms and movement present in a piece like‘excavation’ is created by the continuous repetition of a gesture over time andspace. It is the very inability of the human hand to create an exact replicaand where that leads, that I am exploring. I imagine a lot of the issues thatthe ‘Op Art movement investigated in the past, are now explored by artistsusing cutting edge I.T.

7. Baoxi这个展览有多少个系列呢？那每个系列之间的关系又是怎样呢？

Baoxi: Howmany series is this exhibition divided into? What is the relationship between the series?

Sara Willett: 展览被大致分为三个部分。作品源自对北京的活力与生活的反映的是更加偏物质（身体）且直觉的；而作品（灵感）源自污染的气候现象的，则更加的柔和、反思；而装置作品（《十元店的艺术形式》）则是我对当时环境下接触的街道以及商店的反映。

Sara Willett: The exhibition is roughlydivided into 3 parts. The work that responds to the energy and life of Beijingwhich is more physical and immediate; the work that responds to the atmosphericphenomenon of the pollution, which is perhaps softer and more reflective andthe installation which was made by engaging with the streets and shops of myimmediate environment.

8. Baoxi 你想跟哪位中国艺术家合作？英国的呢？

Baoxi:Which artist in China would you most like to work with? How about in the UK?

Sara Willet：我在这里遇到了两位很棒的女性艺术家，吕美和Yan Yinghong （音），她们都是以中国传统的水墨作为媒介，作品充满了精神与想象力。我希望与她们俩合作。在英国，我有幸与很多杰出的艺术家合作过，如果非要说一个人的名字，我想与格雷森·佩里（伦敦艺术大学校长），我十分喜欢他的作品并在许多地方听过他的演讲。他是一位天才、慷慨的交流使者，我觉得跟他合作应该非常有趣。

Sara Willett: I have met two wonderfulwomen artists here, Lu Mei and Yan Yinghong, both do amazing work, drawing onthe traditions of Chinese ink painting and both have incredible spirit andimagination. I would love to work with both of them and hope to make thishappen. In the UK, I am lucky enough to already work with some great artists,but if pushed I would say Grayson Perry. I love his work and have heard himspeak on many occasions. He is a gifted and generous communicator and I thinkhe would be a lot of fun to work with.

9. Baoxi 你觉得你在创作上那里还需要突破呢？你的瓶颈是什么？

Baoxi: Where do you think you still needa breakthrough in work creation? What is the bottleneck for you?

Sara Willet：这是一个难以回答的问题，因为大多数艺术家都会经历自我疑惑以及缺乏安全感的时期。说实话，我并不相信“突破”这个概念，但是我相信我有能力去辨别那些创作中小小的转变与其中的行动，这些细微的发生可以通往有趣、硕果累累之路。

Sara Willett: This is a hard questionto answer because most artists often experience periods self doubt andinsecurity. To be honest, I don’t really believe in ‘breakthroughs’, but theability to recognize the significance of a small shift and act upon it, thiscan ultimately lead the work in interesting and fruitful directions.

10. Baoxi 为什么选择在木板上刀刻的方式？什么机缘下开始的？

Baoxi: Whywould you choose to use a knife to carve on boards? How does that start?

Sara Willett: 我总是在过程中实验，我的作品通常都是介于二维与三维之间的。大约在10年前，我跟一些制作家具的大师们共享一个工作室空间，他们用一种称之为“（家具）镶嵌细工”的工艺，一种将层层的饰面薄板应用以达装饰性与设计性的目的。我于是开始了将同样的技艺运用于我的层次绘画中。这个过程中的活力与视觉上的效果与我个人的兴趣非常相吻合，这是我最早开始运用的技术之一。

Sara Willett: I have always experimentedwith process and my work often hovers between 2 and 3 d. About 10 years ago Ishared a studio space with some master furniture makers. They used a techniquecalled marquetry, the craft of applying pieces of veneer to form decorativepatterns and designs. I started to apply the same techniques to layers ofacrylic paint. The physicality of the process and the optical resultssuited my interest and it one of the techniques I have been developing eversince.

在3画廊艺术驻留项目介绍

在3画廊艺术驻留项目是一个国际艺术项目，为艺术家及策展人提供创作及驻留的机会。北京地区仅接受中国地区以外出生（国籍）的艺术家的驻地及创作。欧洲地区马德里驻留项目将于明年2月正式启动，具体驻留申请时间请关注官方微信。

在3画廊驻留项目帮助海外及中国艺术家提供创作工作室及居住空间，帮助提供创作材料的资源及驻留后的小型展览机会，链接更多的城市资源、艺术资源、大使馆及藏家资源。

我们的目标是，跨越地域想象力，创造艺术无限可能。

合作伙伴

在3画廊项目：西班牙Arsfundum艺术基金会、意大利Origini艺术机构、纽约Eleanor Ambos基金会

在3画廊

在3画廊于2006年11月，成立于中国北京798艺术区。致力于在北京以及全球领域内展示和传播当代艺术，涵盖架上绘画、中国当代水墨和新工笔画派、雕塑、摄影、装置、行为等多种艺术创作形式。2012年创造中国-意大利当代艺术双年展，致力于推动两国当代艺术家及其作品，已经连续举办三届。

在3画廊在社会生活中倡导：艺术、生活、新知。在之后逐渐成熟的行动中，发展并不遗余力的支持具有强烈探索精神的艺术家创作及展览：艾未未、雎安奇、李占洋、孟煌、李日韦、陈丹阳、布克哈德、卡塔林娜、安德烈、九口走召等，探索深度涵盖美术史的一切可能媒介。

画廊早期以抽象水墨的当代视野进驻中国当代艺术界，即为较早深入探索中国当代抽象水墨的画廊；今天，这些与画廊合作的水墨艺术家已成为在国际高层次当代视觉艺术话语界的参与者。在过去的岁月中，画廊自始至终地支持着魏立刚、蓝正辉、吕鹏和苏锐等一批具有影响力的中国新水墨艺术家。

2014年6月，画廊迁址于北京塑料三厂文化园区内，地处草场地东北侧。由高大的厂房整理而成的空间，已成为国际收藏家、策展人以及艺术爱好者熟知的聚集场所。

联系我们：

在3画廊/ 中国?北京

地址：北京南皋路129号北京市塑料三厂文化园在3画廊

邮编： 100015

联系电话: +(86) 010 57097603

电子邮件: art@being3.cn

在3画廊公共微信账号：being3art

Being 3 Gallery

Being 3 Gallery was established in November2006, at 798 Art Zone, Beijing, China. Worldwide and locally, it dedicates for the dissemination and exhibition of contemporary art, covering easel painting,contemporary Chinese ink painting and neo-fine-brushwork, sculpture,photography, installation, performance and other artistic forms. Biennale China-Italy, which was started in 2012, has been held by Being 3 Gallery forits third time, it is committed to promote contemporary artists and theirartworks.

Being3 Gallery advocates Art, Life and New Knowledgein social life. In its later progress of maturation, it was developing andsparing no effort to support works and exhibitions of creative artists such as Ai Weiwei, Li Zhan Yang, Meng Huang, Li Wei, Chen Danyang, Burkhard von Harder,Andrea Chiesi, Katerina Belkina and Jiu Kou zouzhao whose exploration covers the art history andall possible mediums.

In its early days, Being 3 Gallery entered Chinese contemporary art field from the angle of abstract ink painting, thus,it is one of the galleries explored Chinese contemporary abstract ink painting at an early time. Today, these artists who had been worked with Being 3 gallery have all become participants of high-level international contemporary visual art industry. Over the past years, Being 3 gallery have been supporting influential Neo-ink artists including Wei Ligang, Lan Zhenhui, Lv Peng and SuRui.

Since June 2014, Being 3 Gallery has moved to The Beijing No.3 Plastic Factory Cultural Park, which is located in northeast of Chao Changdi. Being constructed by high factory style spaces, it has become a very well-known salon for international collectors, curators andart lovers.

Contact us:

Being3 Gallery / Beijing, China

Address: The Beijing No.3 Plastic Factory Cultural Park, No.129 NanGao Rd., Chaoyang Dist., Beijing

Post Code: 100015

Tel: + (86) 57097603

Email: art@being3.cn

Wecat : being3art