Green Root Lab|聲境 Soundscope

聲境 Soundscope

Green Root Lab

Eva Bubla & Lilli Tölp

匈牙利&愛沙尼亞

年份 Year
2016

材料 Materials
竹子、藤蔓、稻草繩、麻繩
Bamboo, vines, straw rope, hemp rope

位置 Location
親蟹平台
Crab Wactching Area

理念 Statement
人透過五感來感知這個世界:聽覺、視覺、觸覺、嗅覺和味覺。其中聽覺是最不能被關閉的;環境的聲音無盡地環繞著我們,使我們清醒或入睡。即使是寂靜,也有它的聲音。〈聲境〉是一件為關渡國際自然藝術季打造的現地創作作品,能夠凸顯自然公園中環境的聲音。此作品有三件如聽筒的物件,設於編織而成的圓拱之中,讓訪客能張開耳朵,細細聆聽周遭的聲音。走入〈聲境〉,暫時停下腳步,休息、聆聽、沉思,透過接觸周圍的自然,也與自身的內在連結。

One perceives his world through his five senses: hearing, sight, touch, smell, and taste. Among them, hearing is one that cannot be closed or turned off; the sounds of our environment are continuously approaching us, let us be awake or asleep. There is some sound in every silence.

Soundscope is a site-specific installation designed for Guandu International Nature Art Festival, a work built in order to detect the sounds of the environment in the park. The three tunnels on the walls of the woven dome enable the visitors to open their ears wider, as all the sounds coming into the tunnels are amplified. Soundscope is a place for visitors to stop for a moment, to rest, to listen, to contemplate, and to get in contact with nature around them, and thus, to connect to their very own deeper nature.


一起來認識「綠根實驗室」(Green Root Lab)的雙人組藝術家—來自愛沙尼亞的Lilli Tölp和匈牙利的Eva Bubla!

Q:為什麼想要參加這個藝術計畫?
A:Lilli住在印度,Eva住在印尼,我們各自都看到生活環境裡水汙染和土地汙染等種種問題,很希望能為土地做些什麼,所以我們從2015年開始合作一些結合自然和裝置藝術的環境計畫。之前我們在印尼辦過水污染的工作坊,播放一些討論環境變遷、資源消耗的卡通,帶小朋友做簡單的濾水器、在村子裡種樹…等,希望讓大家理解森林砍伐和水資源的關係,意識到當今環境議題的重要性。我們一直想把噪音汙染這個面向帶進創作思考,因為我們對聲音很感興趣,覺得要是能把自然、聲音、環境問題三個元素放在一起應該會很有意思。之前我們聽過有些藝術家朋友推薦關渡的藝術計畫,對我們來說使用自然素材來呈現關於環境與藝術的思考,是個新鮮的挑戰,所以就想在這個計畫裡嘗試帶出我們對環境的關懷,做出兼具功能與教育意義的作品。

Q:為什麼你們對「聽覺」特別有興趣?你們覺得「聽」跟關渡這個創作場域的關係是什麼?
A:其實我們兩個都是滿視覺型的人,Eva是繪畫背景,Lilli之前則是學攝影和新媒體,聽覺對我們來說都是正在開發的能力。Lilli在大學時期曾經選修過一堂關於聲音的課,教課的老師是個聲音藝術家,當時老師帶著大家留意自然中的聲音,當感官張開了,很多過去未曾留意的聲音竟然就出現了。那是Lilli第一次聽到雪掉落到葉子上的聲音,和大自然天人合一的瞬間感覺非常神奇,那一刻我體會到自己竟然讓耳朵沉睡了那麼久!靜下來好好學習怎麼「聽」之後,我發現即便是如引擎發動這般的噪音,裡頭也帶著某種美感。當專注聆聽的時候,你會發現那個聲音的獨特之處。Lilli後來也養成了採集聲音的習慣,無論到世界的哪個地方,都會錄下當地的聲音。我們覺得學習留意周遭環境是很重要的,尤其在城市裡,因為四周太過喧囂,很容易就把感官都關起來。置身熙攘的都市當中,關渡竟然擁有開闊的溼地,這裡的風吹樹動、水聲和鳥鳴就顯得特別珍貴。
我們這次的作品「聲境」就是希望人們將注意力聚焦在耳朵,仔細聆聽、感受身邊的環境。過去我們的創作都是在室內的藝廊展示,這次的作品在自然環境裡呈現,所採取的材料、作法都必須因地制宜,像是一開始我們打算用木頭蓋個幾何結構,但來了現地之後決定改用這裡的竹子,而我們的作品點附近有開闊的天空,臨水近樹,又有鳥叫蛙鳴,匯集了自然界裡各種聲音,非常適合「聆聽」。可說整個創作過程我們都在跟大自然合作。

Q: 為什麼取「綠根實驗室」這個名字?你們既是雙人組,如何分工合作?兩人一起工作,相較於獨自創作,有什麼樣的不同?
A: 我們從2015年開始合作時取了這個名字,想傳達對環境的關懷,用「實驗室」這個字是希望我們的創作更自由,不侷限於傳統的藝術類型,而且希望成員人數能慢慢成長。通常Eva是負責寫作,Lilli則比較擅長使用工具和手作,但我們兩人會一起構思創作主題跟方向,腦力激盪討論出我們覺得好的方案。剛開始合作時,我們曾經嘗試練習一個月都在鑽研「樹」這個主題,可能是畫素描、收集石頭花草排列在樹的周圍、做些樹葉的拼貼…總之就是訓練自己往那個方向思考,磨合彼此的想法。兩人一起工作的好處就是可以交換彼此的觀點,我們提出不同的意見,為的不是要反對對方,而是希望能找到更貼切的方法。

Q: 這次和志工一起工作的經驗如何?你們之前在印度和印尼進行藝術計畫,有志工協助嗎?這裡的志工和你們之前經驗的志工,合作情況有何不同?
A: 我們很感謝這次一起工作的志工!無論烈日晴雨,他們都非常熱忱地參與,也跟我們分享了許多他們對生活的看法,能跟當地人一起工作非常有趣。而且因為在戶外工作,來來往往的路人給我們很多啟發,不時會有小朋友會來幫忙,或者來聞聞我們的材料。我們以前做過的一些藝術計畫,有的是要從頭到尾自己來,有的是藝術家朋友之間會彼此幫忙。在印度某個藝術計畫,我們曾有當地的志工來協助,不過他們並不是一直都在,只會在某些我們需要幫忙的時刻出現。相較之下,這裡的志工制度非常有系統,有固定的工作時段,每天也有一定數量的志工來幫忙。我們希望參與過的志工,都能覺得自己是這個作品的一部分。

Let’s meet the members of Green Root Lab—Lilli Tölp from Estonia and Eva Bubla from Hungary, the artist of 2016 Guandu International Nature Art Festival!

Q: Why were you interested in this art project?
A: Lilli lives in India, and Eva lives in Indonesia. We saw a lot of problems such as water pollution and soil pollution around us, so we want to find a way to express our worry in the environmental issues. We have been working on environmental projects together since 2015 with the emphasis on nature and installations. Last year, we gave workshop on water pollution to children in Indonesia by showing some cartoons portraying different environmental problems like plastics in the soil and wastes of water and many resources. Furthermore, we made water filters together to discuss the function of the filtration system, and also planted trees in the villages with the kids. The purpose was to bring out the relations between deforestation and water resources, and make people aware that there were problems. Besides, we want to put noise pollution into focus since we have been interested in sounds. So we thought it might be interesting to put together nature, sound, and environmental problems. Our artist friends recommended Guandu art project to us. For us, to work on natural materials is an interesting challenge because we’re trying to make our ideas about nature into a real installation with functions.

Q: Are you particularly interested in sounds? How is the sound special to your work at Guandu?
A: Actually we are both very visual persons. Eva is with a painter background; Lilli studied photography and new media. Listening is an ability that we both want to develop. Lilli took an optional course by a teacher who was a sound artist. He led the students to pay attention to the sounds arounds us. That was the first time that I heard the sound of show touching the leaves. It was such a magical moment that I regretted why I’ve had make my ears sleep so long. I realized that I must learn to listen. After starting to listen, I found even noises like engines can have some kind of beauty in it. If you put attention there, you can find the characteristic. Since then I developed a habit of collecting local voices from different parts of the world. We find it inspiring to pay attention to the surroundings. Usually we tend to turn off ourselves especially in the cities. It is a privilege of Guandu to have such big open space and wetlands with sounds of winds, trees, and birds in the middle of a noisy city.
Our work “Soundscope” is made with the purpose of inviting people to listen carefully. Before we worked more in galleries, so working in a natural environment has brought us new challenges. Our methods and materials have been modified by the nature a lot. Before we came here, we wanted to make a symmetrical geometric structure with wood, but later we decided to use bamboos we found around. Our spot has the open sky and the most natural sounds of water, trees, birds, and frogs. It is a spot perfect for listening. Throughout the whole process we have been collaborating with nature.

Q: Why did you adopt the name “Green Root Lab”? How do you collaborate as a duet? What is the difference between working alone and cooperating with each other?
A: We used this name to express our concern for the environment since we started to work on some environmental projects in 2015. The word “lab” implies our expectations about not taking traditional forms of art and hopefully our group will grow bigger in the future. Usually Eva does the writing, while Lilli is better with tools and making things with hands. But most of the time we work out with ideas and brainstorming together. When we first started doing projects together, we adjusted our ways of collaborating with each other by working on the topic of trees for one month. So we did drawings of tress, or collected stones and flowers for some collages around the trees, so as to train our minds to think in that direction. It is good to exchange ideas and share perspectives with someone else. Not for opposing each other, we throw out our ideas with a view to making things better.

Q: How is the experience to work with volunteers this time? Did you have volunteers when you do your art projects in India or Indonesia? What’s the difference between your experiences with volunteers among these places?
A: We are grateful to the volunteers here! They’ve worked hard and actively no matter it’s rain or shine, or even hot sun. We’ve also learned so much about their life through talking. It is inspiring to work with the locals. And it’s good to work in open air because we were also inspired by random people passing by. We’ve got some kids helping with weaving. Some kids even came smelling our materials. The art projects we had before didn’t always have volunteer system. Sometimes we just did it alone to the end; sometimes we had some artist friends coming for helping out. In an art project in India, we had volunteers as consultants for certain tasks, so they just came when we needed instead of staying with us all the time. In comparison the volunteer system here is very organized with certain working hours and amount of people. We hope those who have come for help can feel themselves to be part of the project.

藝術家 Artist

綠根實驗室

「綠根實驗室」是一個環境藝術組織,由兩位行動藝術家所創立與運作,分別是來自愛沙尼亞的莉莉和匈牙利的伊娃。她們從事綠色藝術行動,以提升人們的環境意識,熱衷參與社區藝術計劃,也跨領域結合科技與藝術。

莉莉和伊娃曾在印尼與印度進行許多工作坊,與當地社區合作,建造濾水器及舉辦植樹運動,使用回收素材與孩童一起製作皮影戲和現地創作,學習竹編及使用牛糞建造房屋。她們最近的計畫則是在調查印度的社會與生態現狀,關注噪音汙染、絕種鳥類,以及農業耕作等議題。

透過調查,莉莉和伊娃反思人類行為對環境的衝擊,如都會化、商業活動、慣行農法,以及綠色空間營造等相關的社會實踐。

Green Root Lab

Green Root Lab is an environmental art organization founded and run by artists and environmental activists Lilli Tölp (Estonia) and Eva Bubla (Hungary). The organization deals with green art activities and was founded in order to raise environmental awareness by the language of art. Mainly it focuses on community art projects and the interdisciplinary field of art and technology.

Eva and Lilli have held workshops where they built water filters and started a reforestation movement with Indonesian local communities, built puppets for shadow play from recycled materials with children, created site-specific installations, studied bamboo weaving and building house from cow waste with local Indian communities. Their last project researched the social and ecological conditions of India, with special emphasis on farming practices. This time they focus on bringing awareness on noise pollution and bird distinction.

In their works Lilli and Eva investigate and reflect on nature, the impact of urbanization, chemical farming and other commercial activities on the landscape, and the identity of natural space and related social practices.