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Swiss ail
{ SWITZERLAND 瑞士 }
簡介 /


以自然萬物為本, 衍生全新意念

Swissartists-in-labsprogram是蘇黎世藝術大學ZHdk,藝術ICS文化研究學院及聯邦文化辦公室的協作計劃,旨在令藝術家和科學家了解彼此領域的知識觀點,鼓勵並推動科藝跨學科合作,從而回饋公眾。自2003年成立以來,Swiss ail一方面讓藝術家參與長期的科學研究,與科學家交流的同時接觸到科研的工具與材料,從而探索當代藝術實踐、科學和社會間的關係。另一方面,科學家亦能認識到當代藝術的觀點,了解美學發展歷史和符號學的溝通模式。
作品 /


一個蟲子的世界觀
亞牛(中國), 克里斯托弗.羅賓遜 - Eawag (瑞士)


大部份人相信人類有改變環境、自然甚至世界的能力。萬物則以獨有的法則在改變,每況越下。科學家正代表人類努力扭轉局勢,把一切拉回正軌。作為自然一部份的野生動物成為這次變革的主體,牠們對環境的改變有什麼反應?

透過瑞士聯邦海洋科學及技術實驗室,簡稱
Eawag,三百位科學家參與一個由二十條問題組成的問卷調查,問題涉及生活、愛情、幸福及未來幾個範疇。科學家把答案寫於紙上,調查過後,所有筆記被送回實驗室並與海洋微生物共同放於實驗碟上,其後藝術家在顯微鏡下觀察這些實驗碟,找出這些海洋微生物如何看待人類對生活、愛情、幸福及未來的思想。

生活、愛情、幸福及未來會隨著海洋微生物在這既定空間的運動而變淡並最終消失。在紙上記下的筆記回歸空白,這實踐了東方哲學的核心,引用著名唐代詩人李白的詩句:「抽刀斷水水更流。」
問與答 /


就這三百個科學家的問卷答案,你覺得是否縱然 他們是科學家,但每個人的心裡也住著一位藝術家呢?<

當我得到這些科學家們的答案時, 我興奮不已! 他們每個人都充滿童心和「異想天開」,他們太不 「理性」!與他們相處的日子越久,越發現事實上 科學家的工作需要有無限的想像力,對所做的研究 方向必須作出大膽的假設,這一點跟藝術家一樣,想像力是開展工作的基礎。由此可見,科學家是半 個藝術家。

指導我工作的科學家CHRIS從事的Artificialfloods(人造洪水),通過人造洪水,使被人所破壞的自然生態恢復原本的生態環境。還原世界,也是藝術家的任務之一。




藝術的存在、創作和推廣如何造福生態環境?

就視覺藝術的影響力而言,令人遺憾的是,一些藝 術家的狹隘使他們輕視甚至抵制所謂的環保題材。




如果愛情和藝術是我們人類的繆斯女神,什麼是大 自然的繆斯女神?

不這是一個浪漫的看法, 而現實卻讓我們感到悲 傷。大自然有着強大的自我造血能力,前提是人類 要減少對它的傷害。現在每個人都生活在不尊重大 自然的惡果裏,在我們力所能及的範圍內,如何去 善待大自然是每個人都要面對的事情,這樣的觀點 可不是什麼陳腔濫調。我們要儆醒的是,不因為常 聽常講這個觀點而變得麻木不仁,恰恰是很多事情 我們舉手之勞即可有所作為。另外科學家作為世界 上最聰明的人,人們對這個群體寄予很大的期待, 他們似乎就是大自然的繆斯了。
Introduction /


FREE FLOW OF IDEAS AND EXPERTISE FROM THE INSPIRING NATURE OF CURIOSITY

The Swiss artists-in-labs program is a collaboration between Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdk), Institute for Cultural Studies in the Arts (ICS) and the Federal Office for Culture. Since 2003, the program has provided artists with a platform to investigate relations between contemporary art practice, science and society. In this program, artists are given an opportunity to understand scientific research through interacting with lab scientists and getting hands-on experiences with scientific tools and materials, while scientists can gain insight into the world of contemporary art, aesthetic development and the semiotics of communication. The purpose of this program is to allow scientists and artists to exchange knowledge and points of view from their respective fields and to encourage and instigate more collaboration between artists and scientists that would reach and benefit the general public.

Work /


WHEN SMALL SEES BIG (2009-10)
by Anin (China), Christopher T. Robinson-Eawag (Switzerland)

Most people believe that human beings are strong enough to change the environment, nature and even the world. Things are indeed changing, but in the worst possible way. On behalf of all human races, scientists are striving to bring things back to the right track. However, what is interesting, and the subject of this work, is to investigate how wild animals as part of nature are reacting to these changes.

A questionnaire consisting of 20 questions was sent to over 300 scientists of the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (“Eawag”). Those questions concerned the subjects of life, love, happiness and future. Each scientist wrote down the answers on a small piece of notepaper. After these notes were returned to the lab, they were placed together with a tiny aquatic creature on a small dish filled with water. The dish was then observed under a microscope to find out how this tiny creature treated our ideas and views about life, love, happiness and future, which made us human beings.

Life, love, happiness and future gradually faded away and eventually vanished as the result of the movement of that tiny creature in such confined space. Everything written in the note became blank, which implied the core of an oriental philosophy:-“water runs even when you try to cut it with your knife.” This is a poem by LiBai, a great Chinese poet in Tang dynasty.

Q & A /


Based on the answers given by the 300 scientists, do you think that there is an artist within everyone including even the scientists?

When we were studying the answers given by the scientists, it got us really excited. Each of them had shown us a side of innocence and whimsy but not so much rationality. The longer I spent working with them, the more I became to understand that being a scientist requires an uninhibited imagination and making bold moves in deciding their research directions. It is very similar to how artists use their imagination as the foundation of their works. On that note, scientists are half artists.

The scientist, Chris, who instructed me, specialized in artificial floods. Through artificial floods, parts of Mother Nature that were damaged or isolated could be revived to their original form. Restoring the world to its primitive form is also one of the duties of an artist.




How could the existence, the creation and the promotion of arts be good for the ECO environments?

With the influence brought by Visual arts. Unfortunately, some artists can be so narrow-minded that they neglect or even boycott using environmental themes for their works.




If love and art are the muses of us human beings, what are the muses of Mother Nature?

This is a romantic way to put it, but in reality we feel sad. mother nature has great power of regeneration, but remains dependent on humankind’s commitment to reduce its harm to her. Right now, everyone is living under the consequences of the disrespectful deeds done to mother earth. It should be our stance that we need to treat Mother Nature with kindness, and it is not a clichéd act at all. We shall be alert not to become apathetic toward such a stance, even though we often hear about that. In many things, it only takes a little of our effort to make a big difference. Scientists being the smartest people in the world, and from whom society expects the most, seem to be the muse of nature.