“Earth Poetica地球詩篇”

幾年前，以色列藝術家Beverly Barkat 受到一群孩子在充滿垃圾的海攤撿拾的畫面而震撼，她感到“我們正在讓地球窒息”。此後，她開始構思一個創作計劃，希望能「打破人與自然之間的隔閡，從而改變人們的認知或習慣」。

During one of her travels a few years ago, Beverly Barkat (born 1966 in Johannesburg, South Africa; lives and works in Jerusalem, Israel) was struck by an image of children scavenging on a once-beautiful beach awash with plastic waste. She saw our planet Earth suffocating by our own deeds. Her current large-scale project Earth Poetica stems from those events, hoping to raise awareness of plastic pollution, to “break down the barriers between people and nature in a way that will change perceptions and perhaps habits.”

2019年起Barkat 將更宏大的國際議題探討，加入她的創作中，在過去三年，她蒐集並積累了來自世界各地的塑料垃圾以及廢棄漁網，即使期間受到COVID-19全球疫情影響，仍不間斷，直到2022年將這些垃圾轉化成她作品“Earth Poetica”， 這是一個直徑四米，有著真實大陸和海洋比例的地球裝置藝術，以竹節為骨架，由金屬框架面板和填充塑料組成，球體外部閃爍著令人驚嘆的美麗海洋與陸地，但當從內部近距離觀察時，是充滿塑料袋、瓶子、漁網和消費品包裝的混亂漩渦，一個醜陋的真相，觀者可以爬上去從上面看到它，窺視裡面或坐下來思考。

Over the past three years, Barkat has been transforming plastic waste into a giant globe, four meters in diameter, representing our planet Earth. During the global Covid-19 pandemic, she has been collaborating with individuals and communities around the world who have been collecting and sending plastic wastes to her studio in Jerusalem. She used soy resin to transform the waste into panels that were then put in metal frames and mounted on a bamboo structure. Earth Poetica, a globe reproducing the continents and oceans in their proper proportions, glistens with breathtaking beauty.

Viewed from afar, it looks like a jewel, but when the viewer comes closer and looks within, the truth is revealed: the inner surface is a chaotic maelstrom of tufts and jagged fragments of plastic bags, bottles, fishing nets, and consumer packaging. Viewers can experience the work from different angles: they can take a bird's-eye perspective, they can peek inside, or just sit nearby and contemplate its message.


“Earth Poetica”，此作品現正於以色列耶路撒冷戈特斯曼家族水族館(The Gottesman Family Jerusalem Aquarium) 展出中，展期至2022年10月，之後將前往美國紐約曼哈頓”ground zero”建築附近的世界貿易中心大樓。

“Earth Poetica” is currently on display at The Gottesman Family Israel Aquarium, in Jerusalem, until October 2022. It will then travel to the United States to be exhibited in the World Trade Center building near Ground Zero in Manhattan, New York.


2022年4月22日為世界地球誕生的日子，象徵平等與和諧共存，與您分享來自以色列藝術家Beverly Barkat 喚起人們對環境反思，獨具意涵的“Earth Poetica”作品，在疫情持續影響的當下，相信更能增強人們對這個作品理念之理解，如同
Barkat所描述：「病毒和塑料垃圾一樣，不分國界。」

April 22 is Earth Day, a day that symbolizes equality and harmonious co-existence between the human race and the planet that we all inhabit. On this occasion, [we at] Da Xiang Art Space gallery would like to share Beverly Barkat's work Earth Poetica with you. It conveys a very unique message, inspiring us to reflect upon our environment.

以上改編&節錄自紐約TIME 時報雜誌報導
The above is adapted & excerpted from a feature article in The New York Times.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/16/arts/design/beverly-barkat-artist-israel-plastic.html?smid=em-share

相關影片介紹: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeBSed7VJY6Fp2VotkT8tDw/videos

REFERENCE

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeBSed7VJY6Fp2VotkT8tDw/videos