2015 “本土化 · 全球化 · 转变” Stefanie Vallee 专访 | Interview with Stefanie Vallee

1. 这次您以“本土化•全球化•转变”为主题的个展灵感来自于哪里？

Where does your inspiration come from for this “local·global·transformation” solo exhibition?

这个灵感来自于对我所培训的各国学员的观察，他们是如何调整自己的适应能力，从而成为一名全球公民的。

My inspiration for this exhibition comes from many testimonials and observation from people I coached regarding their adaptive process as they are becoming global citizen.

2.您为什么选择上海作为当下生活的地方？您觉得上海这个城市如何？

Why did you choose Shanghai as a destination for living at the moment? What do you find about Shanghai?

我之所以选择在这儿生活，是因为上海是一个真正的大都市，这个地方会有太多的可能性发生，我真的很享受这里！上海也是一个现代化、开放且包容的城市，它广泛而又多样，我看到这个城市中不同的社会和文化的美。

I chose Shanghai because it is really a cosmopolitan city, it is the land of all possibilities, I really enjoy this! Shanghai is a modern, open, welcoming city. It is a place with a wide range of diversity, cultural and social differences, and I see beauty in all that.

3. 据我所知，您来自加拿大魁北克 省，是一名国家队前皮划艇运动员，曾十此蝉联了加拿大冠军并在2012年获得世锦赛第四名的成绩。能否跟我们谈谈您是如何成为一名职业艺术家的？

As I know, you are from Quebec Canada and you were a whitewater kayakist on the National team. You achieved several awards as 10 times Canadian Champion and ranked 4th in the World in 2012, could you please tell us what made you become a professional artist?

虽然大多数人都很好奇作为一名前运动员是如何成为一名职业艺术家的。其实这两者之间相关联的元素是“水”。水带动我的皮划艇在水面上滑动驶向终点线。作为一个艺术家，我利用水来传达颜料在画布上创作作品,就好似一种表演。水对我来说是一个神奇的大自然元素，它让我激动不已。所以，我开始作为一名职业的艺术家来销售我的艺术作品用来支持我运动员的生涯，并于2004年在加拿大举办了第一次个展。

Although most people find intriguing the fact that I was an athlete and then became a professional artist, there is actually a genuine link between the two: water. Water used to carry my kayak down the river towards the finish line and I felt like dancing on water. Now as an artist, water conveys pigments on my canvas to create artworks and I feel like performing. Water for me is a magical element of nature, it is so inspirational. So, I began as a professional artist selling artworks to support the costs of my athlete career and had my first solo exhibition in 2004 in Canada. I sold to famous people like Ma Huateng in China back in 2013!

4.作为一名职业运动员和一名职业艺术家，这两者之间有什么区别与联系吗？

What are the difference and connection between being a professional athlete and being a professional artist?

作为一名艺术家来说，是没有团队来支持你的！这也意味着没有任何组织来支撑你。艺术家需要按照自己的计划去完成。幸运的是在我周围已经形成了一个关系密切的工作团队。这需要大量的工作热情和必胜的信念，要经历所有的怀疑和没有把握的阶段。因为放弃者无法获得最终的胜利，而胜利者从不会放弃。

There is no national team to be on, as an artist! That means no structure to support you. Everything has to be planned, built, put forward by the artist. I am lucky because I have formed a close working team around me and my artworks. But both activities require a lot of passion and a winning mentality, the ability to thrive through doubt and uncertainty, because quitters never win and winners never quit.

5. 能否跟我们分享一下您是如何不用画笔去创作作品的？

Could you please share with us the making process of your paintings without using a brush?

我的作画过程看似简单，但其实并不简单。作为一名有25年创作经验的水彩画家，我建立了自己的绘画技法-无笔之绘画法。简称“ＰＷＢ”绘画。我需要先把画布弄湿，在画的上面倒水，听着水流的声音的去画画。这需要一种对水的自然流向的掌控能力。通过这种方式，我可以构建或抽象或具象的作品。我的这种方式创建了一个简易版的绘画技法，称之为《PWB绘画初学者秘笈》。

The making process of my artworks seems very simple but it is 25 years of experience as a watercolorist and painter that I put together to create my technique that I called “PWB – Painting Without a Brush”. It encompasses three easy steps which are: wet, pour and play ! I wet the canvas, pour on the paint, play while listening to the water flowing. It requires the ability to let go of control, and go with the flow. This way, I can create both abstract and figurative artworks. I have also created a simplified version of this painting technique for people called «PWB Starter Painting Kit».

6.您想为此次上海展览的观众带来什么？

What would you like to bring to the viewers from this exhibition in Shanghai?

我希望我的个展能引发人们的好奇心，能反映出人们从本土化转向全球化公民时的内心适应过程，能用全球化的视野去看待本土化的东西。（从中找到一些共同点和语言及思维模式多样化的一种平衡）我通过色彩缤纷的颜色和一些有情感抽象表达的场景，不用画笔使用黑白两色以及不同深浅的灰色调和谐地衔接在一起，并把亲手设计的蝴蝶装置运用到画布上。这些铜质的蝴蝶飞翔在世界地图上，让我从宏观的全球视野去捕捉微观的本土文化。

I hope that my solo exhibition will trigger people’s curiosity and bring some reflection about their own internal adaptation process, shifting from a local to a global reality (finding a common ground and balance out of diversity of languages and mindsets). I am illustrating this through very colorful and emotional abstract scenes, but also with the use of black, white and different shades of grey, bridging opposites together and creating harmony, with maps of the world painted without a brush and pin hand designed butterflies. With copper butterflies, map of the world painted without a brush and local scenes, I go to macro to a micro point of view.

7. 您下一步的艺术创作会是什么？

What’s your next step for your future art creation？

我想试验环氧树脂这一材料，我做运动员时曾用它去修复我的皮划艇，我想将这一材料运用到到画布上去！

I want to explore the flow through epoxy, a material I have been using as an athlete to repair my kayak, now I will bring it on canvas!