對你來說，「自然奇觀」是甚麼？就日本藝術家真鍋由伽子而言，她有可能反問一句：「屬於我的自然，會否即是世界的奇觀？」

What are “natural wonders” to you? For Japanese artist Yukako Manabe, she might answer with a question: “Could my own nature be a wonder of the world?”

👆 封面圖片 Featured image: 雨雲的模型 A Model of rain cloud, 金箔與礦物顏料於紙張 Gold leaf and mineral pigments on paper, 90 × 120 微米 mm (完整圖片連結 Link to full image)

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乍看之下，真鍋的畫作彷彿流露着一種寂靜的不安：被關在籠子裏的大象、面容含糊的吃魚者、佇立於大片綠葉後的女子等等。藝術家的用色簡單而俐落、線條分明，使觀者不禁思考這些看似自然又略帶點荒誕的景象背後，到底隱含着甚麼意念？我們的不安又是否源於這樣的不解？

At first glance, Manabe’s paintings seem to evoke a kind of silent unease: a caged elephant, a fish eater of ambiguous face and a woman standing still behind large pieces of green leaves, etc. The simple and clear colours and lines of the artist nudge the viewer towards pondering the implied significance of these apparently natural yet uncanny images. Does our uneasiness stem from this lack of understanding?

然而，藝術家並沒有打算提供任何令人釋懷的標準答案。藝術家的工作或許就是提出而非回答問題。根據真鍋在捷克畫廊 HIDDEN 的自述，她常常一邊創作，一邊反省：僅存內心的東西是否意味着它並不存在於世界？東西怎樣才算得上在世界存在？那麼當它確實在世界存在的時候，我又是否某程度上改變了世界的結構？

However, the artist does not intend to provide any model answers for their own sake. Perhaps the work of the artist is to ask instead of answering questions. According to Manabe’s personal account at the Czech gallery of HIDDEN, she always guides her creation through self-reflection: does something that exists only in the mind does not exist in the world at all? What makes something qualify for worldly existence? And, when it does exist in the world, have I [the artist] changed the structure of the world to a certain extent?

哪有那麼複雜啊！很難說，而且我也不知道。可以（相對）肯定的是，藝術家習慣採用日本畫的傳統繪畫與版畫的技法，並將之融和於日常生活及天馬行空間的界限。其中比較顯著的影響來自歷史悠久的浮世繪。浮世繪同樣以靈巧的藝術手法呈現人類與自然世界之間的關係，無疑可謂一種奇觀。

How complicated can that be! It is difficult to say, and I also do not know. One thing is (relatively) certain: the artist is used to employing both techniques of traditional Japanese painting and printmaking in her exploration of boundaries between everyday life and imaginative space. A particularly noticeable influence is the historical genre of ukiyo-e, which similarly utilises deft artistic impressions to uncover the human-nature relationship — a spectacle in itself.

真鍋的「自然奇觀」少了葛飾北齋名作《神奈川沖浪裏》中堅定不移的富士山，卻多了一分溫柔的傷感與失落。看：天上下起雨來了。我願品嚐雨水的味道，又在不知不覺間幻化成一尾美人魚⋯⋯這是對光陰荏苒的不捨，抑或是對前路茫茫的不安？藝術家依舊未有正面回應。可是，身為觀者的我們，想必能夠跟一幕幕有關人類、動物與世界的自然奇觀產生心理共鳴，互相慰藉。到時候，變的是我們，還是世界？

While the “natural wonders” of Manabe lack the unshakeable Mount Fuji in The Great Wave off Kanagawa by Hokusai, they are enriched with a touch of gentle sadness and nostalgia. Look: it is now raining. I would like to taste the rain; I have become a mermaid without my consciousness… Is this a reluctance to let go of time, or the anxiety about an uncertain future? Still, the artist never affirms. As the viewer, though, we shall be able to share the comfort and resonance with natural wonders full of humans, animals and the world. By then, will it be us who has changed or the world as a whole?

我想，自然奇觀之美正正在於其不可知。因為不知道自然世界的盡頭，方可感受那些無窮無盡的奇觀。你今日找到屬於自己的自然奇觀未？

I suppose that the beauty of natural wonders lies in their unknowability. Since we cannot fathom the end of the natural world, we will continue to experience its endless wonders. Have you found your own natural wonder today?

關於藝術家 ABOUT THE ARTIST

真鍋由伽子 1994 年生於東京。2018 年，她從東京藝術大學美術學部畢業，獲得日本畫美術學士學位。及後，真鍋在該院校進修研究版畫，並於 2022 年取得美術碩士學位。2015 至 2022 年間，藝術家曾在日本國內參與多場個展和群展，同時亦獲頒神山財團獎學金等多個獎項。

Yukako Manabe was born in Tokyo in 1994. In 2018, she graduated from the Department of Japanese Painting at Tokyo University of the Arts with a BFA. Manabe continued her education and research on printmaking at the same institution, and was awarded an MFA in 2022. Between 2015 and 2022, the artist participated in different solo and group exhibitions across Japan. Her awards include the Kamiyama Foundation Scholarship among many others.

真鍋鍋伽子的 Instagram 個人檔案 Instagram profile of Yukako Manabe:
https://www.instagram.com/yukakomanabe/

參考資料 REFERENCES

真鍋由伽子的網站 Website of Yukako Manabe:
https://yukakomanabe.myportfolio.com

真鍋由伽子於捷克畫廊 HIDDEN 之個人檔案
Yukako Manabe’s exhibition profile, HIDDEN art gallery (Czech Republic):
https://hiddengallery.cz/exhibitions/yukako-manabe

圖片提供：藝術家｜Courtesy of the artist