Mind Philosophy 艺门

IMperfect creation in MOCA singapore 美丽与丑陋创作新加坡特展

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Sculptor CH’NG Huck Theng achieved another milestone in his art career when invited for his first solo exhibition entitled ‘IMPerfect Creation’ in Singapore at MOCA (Museum Of Contemporary Art) @ Loewen. Guest of Honour for the official opening of IMPerfect Creation was H.E. High Commissioner to Singapore Dato Zulkifli Adnan. Dato Zulkifli in his speech praised the hard work the artist had put into creating ‘ugly’ pieces that are beautiful if one actually took the time to understand the concept of … ’if one cannot see ugly, one cannot see beauty’.

CEO of MOCA@Loewen further added that this is the first time the institution hosted a top Malaysian sculptor and he believed that the artist would do well as he was not only a creator but also a thinker. 16 very interesting bronze sculptures that captured a lot of interest and attention. The event was attended by art lovers, collectors and friends.

雕塑艺术家庄学腾受邀在新加坡 MoCA@Loewen-当代艺术博物馆举行个人特展“美丽与丑陋创作 – IMPerfect Creation”，这是他艺术生涯的又一个里程碑。而驻新加坡高级专员拿督 Zulkifli Adnan 阁下担任开幕嘉宾，他在开幕演讲中高度赞扬这位艺术家在创作时所付出的心血，他认为，如果真正花点时间理解“丑陋”的概念，会发现美丽，但如看不到丑陋，那么同样看不到美丽。MoCA@Loewen 的首席执行官进一步补充说，这是该机构首次举办马来西亚顶级雕塑家的作品展，他相信艺术家本身的实力，因为他不仅是一个创作者，而且是一个思想者。16件精彩创意的展出青铜雕塑作品吸引了许多目光和关注。艺术爱好者、收藏家和朋友们皆出席观赏这项展出。

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Mind Philosophy 艺门

Bencharong 陶瓷金杯

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Text & Images by Kessarin Saebe

For antique porcelain collectors, Bencharong ware refers to the enameled Chinese export porcelain for the Thai market, which in some ways resembles Nyonya ware or the Straits Chinese Paranakan porcelain.

Bencharong ware is basically enameled colours over glaze on White porcelain. Bencharong shards were found from archaeological excavations in Ayutthaya (the former capital of Thailand) which dated back to 17th/18th century. In those days, Bencharong ware was in use along with imported Chinese and Japanese porcelain. Nowadays, antique Bencharong dishes and shards can also be found as decoration in some temple ruins in Ayutthaya. Chinese characters reign marks were also found on some bowls.

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A Bencharong bowl, decorated with Himaphan flora motif on a rare pink background. Sino-Thai Style, Qing Dynasty, Jiaqing reign (1796-1820)
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A Typical Bencharong Bowl, decorated with Theppanom and Norasingh motif on a black background. Sino-Thai Style, Ayutthaya period, 18th/19th century

Even though Bencharong means five colours, the colours decorated on the ware sometimes exceed five. The colours used in decoration are mainly in red, yellow and green; black, pink, purple, orange, blue and dark blue are added on after. In the early 19th century, the use of gold wash appeared with the colour enamels and was called Bencharong “Lai Nam Thong” type.

The forms of Bencharong ware include bowl, covered bowl, stem plate, dish, box, cup, covered jar, teapot, tea set, spittoon, tray, spoon, brush washer, candle stick, incense burner, planter, and drum. The decoration consists of unique Thai motifs, inspired by flowers and animals, mythological creatures from Buddhism and Hinduism, scenes from Thai literature and Thai textile motifs.

At present, Bencharong ware is still in production, some workshops produce them following the old designs while others develop their own forms and motifs.

对于古董瓷器收藏者来说 Bencharong 指的是中国外销到泰国市场的珐琅瓷器，这也类似于娘惹器皿或海峡华人的Peranakan瓷器。

而在白瓷器上涂上釉彩是Bencharong最鲜明的特征。在Ayutthaya-大城府(泰国的前首都)的考古发掘中发现Bencharong碎片，可追溯到17或18世纪。在当时，Bencharong瓷器是和中国还有日本进口的瓷器混合使用。如今，在大城府的一些寺庙废墟中，也可以发现装饰着古老Bencharong碟子和碎片，一些碗盘上也发现了中文汉字。

尽管Bencharong在泰文中是“五种颜色”的意思，但有时装饰瓷器的颜色会超过五种。装饰用的颜色主要为红、黄、绿三种；加上黑色、粉色、紫色、橙色、蓝色和深蓝色。19世纪早期，出现一种黄金彩釉的方式，被称为 “Lai Nam Thong” 刷金图案。

而这些器皿用具包括碗、盖碗、阀杆、盘、杯、盖罐、茶壶、茶具、痰盂、托盘、汤匙、刷洗器、烛台、香炉、花盆和鼓。大部分由独特的泰式图案组成，灵感来自于大自然花朵和动物，还有佛教和印度教的神话生物，泰国文学和花纹图案的场景。

目前，Bencharong瓷器仍有在生产推出，一些工艺作坊是按照旧有设计，而另一些则发展自创的形式和图案。

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A gilded lai nam thong porcelain tea set, decorated with Garuda and Naga motifs. Sino-Thai Style, Bangkok Period, 19th century
Breathing Space 空间

世界最佳的文学节 World’s Best Literary Festival

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Crowned the best literary festival in the world in 2018, the George Town Literary Festival (GTLF) returns this November with “The State of Freedom”.

This year, GTLF was awarded The International Excellence Awards 2018 for Literary Festival at The London Book Fair. “In a strong field, George Town Literary Festival stands out as a vibrant, diverse and brave festival that engages with a wide community of voices, speaking to the world from a complex region, said the judges of the International Excellence Awards 2018. GTLF is the only literary festival in Southeast Asia to be conferred this award.

Since the growth of the festival over the past editions and with a record 4,500 festival goers in GTLF 2017, the producer of GTLF, the Penang Convention & Exhibition Bureau (PCEB) has seen it fit to expand this year’s edition to four days from 22 to 25 November. Heading the curatorial team is GTLF Festival Director Bernice Chauly. Bernice Chauly is assisted by Curating this year’s festival is the Bernice Chauly Joining her in shaping up the co-curators Gareth Richards, Melizarani T. Selva and Pang Khee Teik.

“The State of Freedom is significant as 2018 marks many milestones in contemporary history. Seventy years ago in 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the United Nations in the recognition of fundamental human rights for all. A hundred years ago in 1918, women got to vote in the UK, after years of struggle and strife by the suffragette movement, and in 1968, Dr Martin Luther King was assassinated and the civil rights movement in America reached an ugly head. Ten years ago, Kevin Rudd said Sorry to the aboriginal peoples of Australia. And on May 9th this year, Malaysia peacefully and democratically exercised its right as a nation. The George Town Literary Festival 2018 celebrates our most diverse voices in world literature and the many states of freedoms we continue to live, write and struggle in,” states Festival Director Bernice Chauly.

Additionally, GTLF is proud introduce the first ever Malaysian National Poetry Slam. The slam will be an annual spoken word poetry competition focus on poems written and performed in English and Bahasa Malaysia, where 12 Malaysian poets, ages 15 years and above, will compete to become the National Slam Champion.

The festival is thankful to have a great amount of support by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Embassy of Belgium in Malaysia, British High Commission Kuala Lumpur, Creative Scotland, Goethe Institut, Icelandic Literature Center, Japan Foundation Kuala Lumpur, Royale Chulan Penang, Writers SA and many more. GTLF is free and open to public with the exception of the paid workshops.

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被誉为2018年世界最佳文学节的乔治市文学节，以“自由之国”为主题于今年11月回归。

乔治市文学节今年荣获2018年伦敦国际书展的文学嘉年华卓越奖，评审认为，乔治市文学节触及广泛的社区族群并向世界发声，是一个充满活力、丰富多样、勇敢无畏的文学节。乔治市文学节更是东南亚内唯一获得上述荣誉的文学节。

鉴于去年的乔治市文学节有4千500人参与，槟州国际会展及展览局决定将今年的文学节扩展至4天，即从11月22日至11月25日间举行。乔治市文学节节目策划为BerniceChauly，活动联合策展人包括Gareth Richards、Melizarani T. Selva和Pang Khee Teik。

“自由之国在2018年有着极其重大的意义。70年前的1948年，联合国通过了世界人权宣言，承认所有人的基本人权。100年前的1918年，经过多年的女权运动斗争，英国女性获得选举投票权。而在1968年，马丁路德金博士因美国民权运动遭到暗杀；10年前，陆克文向澳洲原住民发表正式的道歉。今年5月9日，马来西亚以和平及民主的方式，让国家改朝换代。以2018年乔治市文学节庆贺我们得以多样的声音在自由的国家、世界文学里，持续生活、写作和奋斗。”节目策划Bernice Chauly如此表示。

此外，乔治市文学节将举办第一届马来西亚诗歌对战赛。对战赛以英文和马来文为主编写诗歌并将之朗诵，12位年龄超过15岁的我国诗人将相互对战争夺冠军荣耀。

本届文学节获得荷兰大使馆、比利时驻马大使馆、英国驻马最高专员署、创意苏格兰、歌德学院、冰岛文学中心、吉隆坡日本交流基金会、槟城皇家朱兰酒店、作家协会等支持。

乔治市文学节免费向公众开放，工作坊除外。

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