TONA LIN
Interview with Nova Zheng
A Place of Land and Sea
Solo show
AD Space
1-11 June, 2022
Tona Lin (TL): What is the background and inspiration for “A Place of Land and Sea”? Where does the idea come from?
《有山有水的地方》的背景和灵感是什么？ 这个想法是从哪里来的？
Nova Zheng (NZ): The inspiration and idea stemmed from my experience as an immigrant. Water has lots of moving energy and the land is fixed and permanent. Using water as the medium to move between the land, that’s what living in diaspora and living in cultural displacement mean and feel like. “Land and Water” 山水 are classical subject matters in Chinese ink painting, it represents the eastern philosophy of living and a state of mind, being with the land and the water. There is also something nostalgic and homesick in portraying the land and the water.
这个展览的灵感和想法源于我作为一个移民的生活经历。水是流动的，山是固定的，以水为介质辗转陆地之间，是我长期生活在离散和文化错位中的感觉和状态， “山水”是中国水墨画的经典题材，它代表了东方人的生活哲学和与山水同在的心境。同时，也借“山水”表达我对“故乡”的向往和思念。
(Everytime i get to a place I always think about “leaving” and “arriving” at the same time. I felt a lot of friction. In the beginning, there was a lot of struggle to navigate the shifts and desire to take control. Then I learnt that the only thing to survive was to accept and stay true to everything that makes me me, and if that is firm, so I began to enjoy the drift. I think that’s the inspiration for this exhibition, and making it is my process of making peace with the changing landscape and a process of growth and discovery. )
（每次我到达一个地方，我总是同时想到“离开”和“到达”，但这两个状态是对立的，我寻找消除对立的方式是改变和躲避，但是我总是有种不擅长游泳的人在水里呛水的感觉。 后来我明白了，这种感觉是因为我在跟自己打架，所以不但不能游泳，反而会呛水。接受“自己”才是唯一让自己和周围和解的方法。我也就开始享受“漂流”的过程，这就是这次展览的灵感，制作它是我与沿路风景关系变化的过程，也是一个自我发现和肯定的过程。）
TL: What does the title “A place of land and sea” represent? How does it relate to “memory”?
标题名字有山有水的地方代表着什么？和展览简介中提到的记忆有什么联系？
NZ: “A Place of Land and Sea” represents the fragmented sense of belonging built off my diaspora experiences, and how they are weaved into my memory. The original title of the exhibition was “In-between”, but I never liked it. And one day when I was half asleep, the title “a place of land and sea” came to me, and I really liked it. Memory is a big part of the show and I think there is a special connection between people, water and land, especially to people like me, living in diaspora, all we have is the memories we make. I am interested in how memory is made, retained and how it lives in our minds and affects us. This exhibition explores these qualities of memory.
我的离散的生活经验编织在一起，他们组成了一种碎片是的归属感，《有山有水的地方》是这样的一种寄托。 展览的原标题是 "In-between" （之-间），但我一直不喜欢它。有一天半夜，我迷迷瞪瞪的时候， 突然想到了"有山有水的地方 "这个词，我很喜欢，觉得它跟我想要表达的特别契合。“记忆”是这个展览的一个重要主题，我认为人、水和陆地之间有一种特殊的联系，我特别感兴趣的是记忆是如何产生的，它如何在我们的脑海中存在以及它怎么影响我们。这个展览也是在探讨记忆的这些特质。
(The land and the sea are where I find solace and resonance because the water carries me to the land and the lands I’ve lived on become parts of me. In eastern philosophy, “paradise is a place of land and water”, and to me it’s about finding that balance. “A place of land and sea” represents the sense of belonging that's built upon experience, memory, time, language and my perception of my identity. )
(是我找到慰藉和共鸣的地方，因为水把我从一个地方带到另外一个地方，我所居住的土地也成为我的一部分。在东方哲学中，"天堂是一个有山有水的地方"，对我来说，就是要找到这种平衡。"水陆之地 "代表了建立在经验、记忆、时间、语言和我对自己身份的认知上的归属感。)
TL: What’s the highlight of your exhibition? How do you express your theme through your work?
你的展览最大的亮点是什么？你如何通过你的作品表达你的主题的？
NZ: The highlight of the exhibition was the audience. It might be a guilty pleasure, but I found it quite enjoyable to eavesdrop into discussions surrounding the interpretation and perspective of my work. And I love having discussions with the audience about the work, I really look forward to their readings. An artist can present the work, but it’s always fascinating to hear different perspectives based on the same presentation.
对我来讲，展览的亮点是观众的反应。我发现我会偷听每件作品的解释和讨论，这一点我很享受也特别兴奋。我很喜欢跟观众讨论我的作品，我很期待他们的解读。艺术家可以呈现她的作品，但在同一件作品上听到不同的解读总是很吸引人。
TL: How do you choose the media and work to connect your work with the concept of memory?
你是如何选择媒体和作品来连接你的作品与记忆的概念的？
NZ: There’s a number of factors, but ultimately it came down to the exhibition space. Every space has its quirks, so I need to make sure that the artworks work in the space. I would like to revisit this exhibition and expand upon it in a larger and more immersive format.
选择展出作品有很多决定因素，但最终还是要看展览空间，每个空间都有它的秉性和局限性，所以我的作品也要因地制宜。我很希望可以把这个展览进行扩展，放到更大的空间，让作品可以以更沉浸式的呈现。
TL: What audience could expect in your project?
观众可以在你的项目中期待看到什么？
NZ: I have no expectations about what the audience should experience in this exhibition as such a journey is largely introspective and personal. I think anyone that has an interest in this exhibition should keep an eye out for the next showing and experience it for themselves.
我没有特别期望观众能在这次展览中收获什么，因为看展和欣赏艺术都是很私人的体验。我很欢迎对这个展览感兴趣的朋友继续留意我下一个展览，欢迎打架来现场感受我的作品。
TL: How does your multicultural background influence your work?
多元的文化背景如何影响你的作品？
NZ: Diaspora has been a big part of my upbringing and something that I have been trying to understand and reconcile for most of my life. This, combined with the eastern and western upbringings are the cornerstones of who I am as an artist, and something I am passionate about sharing with others.
“文化离散”是我成长过程中的一个重要部分，也是我一生中大部分时间都在努力理解和调和的事情。再加上东方和西方的成长经历，他们是我创作的基础，也是我热衷跟别人谈论和分享的东西。
I think I am a collage, I am made of a piece from here and a piece from there, and my work reflects that quality of me. Art-making is my process to put the pieces together, and then create interesting connections between them. I think this is my way to understand my cultural displacement. My eastern upbringing is at the core of my work, it’s ingrained in me. I have fought to get rid of it, but I learned to protect it and be proud of it.
我认为我自己是一个拼贴画，是这一块那一块的拼起来的，我的作品也反映了我的这种特点。我的艺术创作其实就是把我的这些碎片放在一起的过程，然后给它们建立有趣的联系。我觉得我是用这种方式来了解我的文化错位。我的东方成长背景是我作品的核心，它在我身上是扎根了的。我也很努力的想摆脱它过，但现在我学会了保护它，并为之自豪。
It’s very important for me to make a bilingual (in Chinese and English) exhibition. Tt honours my heritage. A lot of people who have similar experiences to me are also bilingual or multilingual. By making the exhibition bilingual I hope it provides a sense of familiarity to them. Plus, having the exhibition in two languages means I can express my ideas to a wider audience.
把这个展览做成中英文双语是非常重要的，这是一种对我的文化背景的尊重，很多和我有类似经历的人也是能掌握双语或多语的，所以我也希望通过双语的展览，能让他们有种熟悉感，并且我认为双语可以把我的想法传达给更多的观众。
My work is usually made with multiple elements, materials, or expression/presentation, and there’s no set way of showing the work. My work is always flexible, I welcome people to experience it the way they want. They can touch, smell, move the works, I welcome their input. Maybe it’s strange to say, but I am very detached from my work once it’s done. I think they take on a life of their own and I respect that.
我的作品通常是用多种元素、混合材料以及多种表达/呈现方式构成的，我不会给他们设定固定的方式来呈现。所以我的作品都是灵活的，我也欢迎观众以他们自己方式来体验它，他们可以摸它，闻它，移动它，我欢迎他们的想法。也许说起来很奇怪，一但我的作品一旦做完，它就好像跟我分割开了。我认为我的作品都有自己的生命，我尊重它们。
TL: Are there any artists you look to for inspiration in your works?
你的作品中有受到任何艺术家地启发吗？
NZ: Song Dong (宋东) is one of my favourite artists of all time. His work such as “Waste Not” (物尽其用）has touched me very deeply. His work has influenced the way I approach everyday objects, the material I use to make art and my relationship with the work I make. And I hope that my work can move people in similar ways.
宋冬是我一直以来最喜欢的艺术家之一。他的作品，如《物尽其用》深深地触动了我。他的作品影响了我对待日常物品的方式，我用来做艺术的材料，以及我与我所做的作品的关系。我希望我的作品能以相似的方式感动人们。
I also draw inspiration from James Turell’s work. His large scale work that invites nature and light to partake in the art he created is very moving.
我也从詹姆斯-图雷尔（James Turell）的作品中汲取灵感。他的大型作品邀请自然，光和大地参与到他所创造的艺术中，充满了对自然的敬畏，非常令人感动。
TL: What message do you want these works to convey to the audience?
NZ: I want the audience to experience memories and reflect on how their memories are made. It makes me so happy that my audience isable to resonate and relate with the work. I really enjoyed when people came up to me and shared their stories that my work has reminded them of, a moment in time that they treasured and protected.
我想让观众体验记忆并思考他们的记忆是如何形成的。我的观众能够与作品产生共鸣，这让我非常高兴。我非常享受人们分享他们的故事，告诉我我的作品让他们想起某个他们特别珍惜的时刻。
I also want to convey that art is in our life, it’s about expressing something you feel strongly about in a way you think is suitable, no one needs to be a great drawer to make emotive drawings. Even a piece of receipt or fabric inlay can be turned into art.
我还想传达的是，艺术就在我们的生活中，艺术是找到合适的方式来表达你强烈的感受，没有人需要成为一个伟大的画家来画感性的画。即使是一张收据或布料底衬也可以变成艺术。
TL: How did this exhibition help with your artistic or curatorial progress?
这个展览对你的艺术或策展工作发展有什么帮助？
NZ: This is my first solo exhibition that I have prepared, curated and exhibited. I am hoping this will be the first of many.
这是我第一次作为艺术家和策展人的个展。我希望这将是许多展览中的第一个。
One of the work in the show called “Imprinting” is a site specific piece, I think there is a lot of potential for it to grow into something really large scale. I really want to take it to a huge space, to fill an entire hall with it, I think that’s when it’ll show the power of art.
展览中的一件作品叫 "印记"，是一件特定的现场作品，我认为它有很大的潜力发展成为真正的大型作品。我真的想把它带到一个巨大的空间，用它填满整个大厅，我想那时候它就会显示出艺术的力量。
I like to mix things up and I can’t really separate art-making and The curatorial process. Coming from a filmmaking background, Image-making is an important aspect of my practice and it is important for me to make exhibitions immersive and multi-sensory. So I chose to combine image-making, installation, audio and performance into this show to provoke emotional connections from my audience.
我喜欢把事情混在一起，对我来说，我艺术创作和策展是分不开的。因为我的电影制作的背景，影像制作是我创作的一个重要方面。对我来说，展览的体验感和多感官是很重要的。因此，我选择在这个展览中结合影响、装置、音频和行为艺术，以引发观众的情感联系。
TL: Are there any specific topic you like to focus for your future work?
在你未来的工作中，有什么具体的主题是你想关注的吗？
NZ: A large part of my life has been shaped by diaspora, language, memory and family - so these themes will continue to be expressed throughout my work.
我生命中的很大一部分是围绕着离散、语言、记忆和家庭这些主题的--所以这些主题将继续在我的作品中表达。
Background image Nova Zheng. Imprinting (process video.) Video courtesy of Tona Lin
