「土磚絮語」– 鄉土連結 藝術參予
Murmur of the Brick’s – Rurally Engaged Art
泥土、禾稻、草木、草磚、夯土牆、客圍房子、梭織帶裙、布染
它／他們會發聲嗎？會告訴我們他們的故事嗎？
嘆唱、哭嫁、足踏舞動、節慶、喜樂、哀慼、愁懷。
策展前言
有這樣一群人，不同的理由，走入這差不多被遺忘的客家村中，嘗試去找尋失去的記憶，有從土地復耕中，享受土地與自然界的融和，也有重現失傳手藝，以泥土、破瓦、乾草、竹篾、印染、引入一抹清新，補償被城市冷酷氛圍而窒息的空間。
一笠凉帽，手織花帶，帶出一段段的情，在田野鄉郊中高低徘徊的歌聲，盡訴國情鄉愁，在大地緬懷之中、也有男女的對駡柔情。在艱辛貧瘠中、生命的不屈向我們娓娓道來…
我們，這一幫人，給你們獻上，以不同形式的藝術表達，在荔枝窩的心路！
Prologue
An ensemble of individuals and their presence in this nearly forgotten Hakka Village, to till the land, to bright to light lost craftsmanship, and to revel in the oneness of land and nature. With soil, shattered tiles, hay, bamboo strips, dye, a breath of fresh air is let in to the oppressive coldness of urban space.
The cooling of a bamboo hat, the intricacies of a hand knitted band, and the oscillation of songs, evokes stories of sojourners’ thoughts of home, of romances and bickers, and of resilient lives that refuse to give up in dry and cracked earth…
These expressions of art are our gifts and testimonies to Lai Chi Wor.
荔枝窩村擁有300多年歷史，是香港最具規模和歷史悠久的客家圍村之一。村外是綠油油的風水林和田野，村中是素樸巷弄，當友善的狗在日光下衝著訪客擺尾，卟！小黑魚在清溪躍動……。絕對稱得上︰「四時之景不同，而樂亦無窮也」。大家驚訝我城仍有這般寶貴的自然生態和有趣的村落文化。不同媒介的藝術工作者，被這裡的山、川、人、情所給引，希望以荔枝窩的歷史、文化和在地素材創作一個在地藝術作品。這幾年幾位創作者一直在香港不同鄉村及城中村走訪，試把這城漸被遺忘的文化寶藏以不同藝術媒介的結連參予、尋找、招回。與不同年紀及文化背景社群互動，嘗試把香港的古舊文化以一個富時代感而又能承傳本土的藝術面向出現。
「土磚絮語」聲音裝置藝術計劃將以舊房子改裝成互動聲音裝置，在地耕種水稻，採土重新建造的土磚之間傳來的是這村幾近被遺忘的故事與歌謠，並以手織的花帶作串連，引領觀眾進入荔枝窩的歷史文化土壤中，思考客家文化、農家美學、傳統手藝，鄉村生活模式與價值觀在當下的時代意義。
「土磚絮語」有別於一般地標式的作品，創作團隊透過與社群建年平等自主的互動平臺，促成藝術的社會擔當的角色。通過藝術引導的參與式過程（Art-led Participatory Process）與社群一同回逆舊時代的文化意義。藝術是有力的媒介去激發參與社群重新審視這消失中的文化、歷史足跡。參與者包括不同年齡的荔枝窩海內外村民、工藝師、歷史學者、民族音樂研究人、音樂人、農人、藝術工作者、建築師。藝術工作者的角色是重塑與轉化這些舊有文化在當下的時代意義與價值，而非單純的懷舊和記錄。創作圑隊將與素民共同發拙封塵己久的記憶，由學習傳統技術，如種米、打泥磚與織花帶等，到以口述歷史的方式訪查歌謠與故事，這種回顧(revisit)滿足了人在心理上對「家 (尋根)」的渴求之餘，有了這份認同與自信，讓人們可走得更遠與更踏實。
我們期望可發展為一個長遠、可持續和可共享的參與式藝術計劃，整個項目為期一年，期間以工作坊形式招募有興趣參與的朋友，內容包括傳統土磚工藝傳承、花帶工藝傳承、水稻復耕等。口述歷史訪談與記錄、文獻考查、客家歌-謠收集等則會邀請相關學者及研究員來帶領，目標是紀錄本土及海外村民認識的歌謠、故事。項目將於整年時間進行，部分工作坊會在合作單位場地進行，而在地展覽將於荔枝窩舉行。傳統的歌曲和原創新歌的錄音將內嵌於禾草土磚牆裝置上，以感應裝置作開關。遊人將會用手掌接觸來自不同農村的土磚，撫摸著香港泥土的質感時，緩緩播放簡約、人聲為主的錄音，與大自然環境聲音結合，閉上眼來感受，就讓想像穿越時空，感受到來自客家村落土地的聲音。在荔枝窩藝術裝置現場使用傳统的農民鄉土手織布帶、草木印染在房子中空垂懸，把泥土的故事、隨着歌聲飄昇，傳统的文化智慧得以在大地上相互祝福對視。
Mur Mur of the Brick – Rurally Engaged Art
An Art Installation project in Lai Chi Wo, celebrating the Art and Culture of Hong Kong’s own Hakka Heritage
Concept and Description
An adobe hay brick wall, whispering and interweave of sound and color, documenting life.
Rough, mottled brick wall, mark down the aged old warm memories of rural past. If those earthen huts can talk, what sound will it be? Melancholic music, lamenting songs, stamping feet dances, sad, joyous or unforgettable life stories….
An art led participation processes of collecting life stories starts from Hong Kong’s North East, Long YueTou village and Lai Chi Wo, and spread to the city. Striking a dialogue in equal, and create a conversational platform for interaction between different communities. Artists will work hand in hand with local residence to build an adobe brick wall with local soil and hay. Community music will be created and audio sound files will be embedded in the walls for interactive art play installation. To visitor’s gentle touch, each earth brick will sing and murmur their hidden secrets. An art installation make of mud, hay, earth, music and sound.
Traditional and innovative hand woven fabric art from different villagers and communities will also be part of the arts in residency. Weavings will then be hung and installed as the sound resonance’s scent, rising up to heaven. Echoing of the past, and of future’s blessings.
A feast is ready, for all art participants- celebration of life and the land, a cross-cultural cross-language feast. Sharing life stories, interacted in dance, music, tea, snacks and bric-brac , Blessed All!
If art is to be relevant to the environment, it needs to move beyond an art context to engage with the land itself. – Ben Valentine
Soil and people are intricately linked. In fact, the Latin root of the word human
is similar to the root of the word humus and means earth. Soil touches people’s lives in many ways, including serving as the source of food and clothing, and for its ecological services, such as filtering drinking water.
People have recognized the importance of soil since ancient times and soil has found its way into many cultural references. And, many religions have references to soil and many feel a spiritual connection to land and earth. Soil has also found its way into art and literature, often viewed as reflections of society. Interestingly, clay tablets were among the first portable writing and painting surfaces used in some cultures. The colorful minerals of soil have inspired artwork and been used as dyes and paints. However, artwork explicitly dealing with soil and soil conservation issues is characteristic to the environmental arts movement spanning over the last 50 years.