◎策展人／藝術家 伊誕・巴瓦瓦隆

思想是人類行為和交互作用的基礎，思想可以讓人類認知、詮釋和描述所體驗的周遭世界，並藉由抽象性、概括性的分析與整理，於生活中回應對現實世界的感知。台灣原住民排灣族人對有思想的人，會稱他為pu-varung ，pu（有）varung（胸懷、想法、慧根），pu-varung通常是部落裡的哲人，善用雙關語暗喻對事物的理解，比如以「永不枯乾的河水」形容人們「思想一直在轉動」；「黎明偷看我們了」意指「時光將到，仍要繼續思索」。對排灣人而言，思想是神秘的，賦有創造性和有趣性，它隱含一個人曾經走過、現實情境和對未知世界的預測，正如德國大文豪歌德對生活與思想註解說：「我們的生活就像旅行，思想是導遊者，沒有導遊者，一切都會停止，目標會喪失，力量也會化為烏有。」而愛爾蘭劇作家蕭伯納也提到「軀體總是以惹人厭煩告終。除思想以外，沒有什麼優美和有意思的東西留下來，因為思想就是生命。」

於台北心動藝術空間策展的《思想在走路──伊誕・巴瓦瓦隆個展》，其實是藝術家對「思想」一詞的探索，試圖從《紋砌刻畫》的藝術形式中，創造簡潔、有趣的構圖，並且在具象與抽象對比之間，觀看人類一個重疊性的永恆疑問和解決實務問題的答案。思想悄悄的進入人們的心靈土壤，隨著自己的時間與空間遊走，讓胸懷、意志、洞察和理解不斷演進，而人類「思想在走路」的過程，不應當覺得思想只是無謂闖入的陌生旅人，而是需要培養堅實特殊的藝術語彙場域，以更認識自己內心的力量。

心動藝術空間的「思想在走路」，策展藝術家的視覺與構思版圖涵蓋「大地給人類的溫度」、「生命永恆的探索」、「生態神學的反省」等三個界面。除了平面的《紋砌刻畫》大小30多件作品外，也結合馨香之氣與自然大地之聲，營造展場空間的原始樸質、簡潔典雅及當代語彙，彷如思想家托爾斯泰所說：「思想上的努力，正如可以長出大樹的種子一般，在眼睛裡是看不見的，但人類社會生活的明顯變化正發生於其中。」

Thought is the foundation for human behavior and interaction, allowing people to perceive, interpret, and describe their surrounding world, and in turn, react through abstract and conceptual analysis and organization. The Taiwan indigenous Paiwan tribe refers to a man with thought as ‘pu-varung:’ ‘pu,’ meaning ‘with,’ and ‘varung,' meaning mind, ideas, or wisdom. A Pu-varung is usually the sage of the tribe, those who are good at using equivoques and metaphors to depict their understandings. For instance, ‘A river that never runs dry’ describes those with an inexhaustible mind; ‘The dawn is peeping at us’ means that a man should never stop thinking even if his time has come to an end. To the Paiwan people, thoughts are mysterious, creative and fascinating. It implies the path one has taken, situations in reality, and predictions of an unknown world. German literary giant Johann Wolfgang von Goethe once said: ‘Life is like traveling, with thoughts as the guide. Without the guide, everything stops; goals disappear, and strengths vanish.’ Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw also mentioned, ‘The body always ends by being a bore. Nothing remains beautiful and interesting except thought, because the thought is the life.’

Walking Thoughts – Etan Pavavalung Solo Exhibition, curated by Art Influence, Taipei, is an exploration of the word ‘thought.’ The artist seeks to create simple yet intriguing compositions through markings and patterns. Meanwhile, Etan Pavavalung examines the perpetual question of the human condition along with answers responding to pragmatic questions through comparing the figurative with the abstract. As thought gently enters people’s minds and wanders in its own time and space, it allows ongoing development of the mind, will, insight, and comprehension. Men should not consider thought as an intruding strange traveler; instead, a tunnel to cultivate a firm and unique language of art in order to better understand the strength within.

The visual and conceptual domain of Art Influence’s Walking Thoughts exhibition include concepts ‘The Warmth of the Earth,’ ‘A Perpetual Exploration of Life,’ and ‘Reflections on Ecological Theology.’ Apart from over thirty pieces of artworks from the Depictions Through Markings and Patterns series, this exhibition also integrates fragrance and natural sounds of the earth to give the space a primitive sensation that is also elegant and contemporary. To quote Leo Nikolayevich Tolstoy: ‘The power of thought is as invisible as the seed from which a huge tree grows; but it is the origin of any visible changes in a man's life.’