Statement

不 在 他方

文 / 許楚君

有別於過往在繪畫裡反覆描繪的遊樂園、彩帶、植物…… 種種曾具體存在過的消逝之物，2022年，曾麟媛在也趣 藝廊「不在他方」所呈現的新作，明確地表現出一種轉向： 她所欲捕捉的從來不只是曾在之物，更是無法留駐於永 恆、時時變幻的每一瞬息，以及記憶之中的色彩、光點與 陰翳。

在藝術家眼中，記憶從不是固著的存在，而是時時處於不 斷變幻的動態。在這系列作品中，曾麟媛更加清楚地揭示 了，她並非藉由繪畫如實還原記憶裡的畫面，也並非將觀 者引向她所曾見之物，而是讓媒材成為一種阻斷的中介， 在其中展現記憶與實物之間無可彌縫的落差。

在作為系列創作始點的〈蝶影群生〉，雖仍保留明確的輪 廓，但從表現蘭花枝葉的色彩，可看見曾麟媛已將焦點轉 移到植物表面的光影，而不僅在於植物的型態。延續著這 道線索，在〈樹生藤〉與〈藤生樹〉之中，她則靈巧地運 用壓克力透明薄透的特性，在畫布上透過顏料的淤積與疊 染，留下不均勻的光暈。除了佔據半幅畫面的深色樹幹， 以及樹幹上縱橫交錯的線條，看不見植物實際的型態，唯 一可以見到的，是藝術家記憶之中，蘭花氣根表面反射的 光與色。在〈暗處屢屢的明爍明滅〉，亦能看見曾麟媛如 何在彷彿沒有盡頭的幽黯之中，捕捉到蛛網上露珠的明滅 閃爍。她意不在描摹水珠的色澤與造型，而是抓取暗夜裡 水光閃現的瞬間。

不同於過去的創作方法，藝術家在作畫前先以膠遮擋技法 表現藤蔓等植物的形體，於其上層層覆蓋顏料再撕開。揭 開之後，此前構想之中記憶的對象物，在畫布上已漠然不 識。藝術家在繪畫之中帶著距離回看記憶，同時，在反覆 的遮擋、揭開、凝視與覆蓋之間，記憶也會不停改換面貌， 時而使人熟悉，時而使人陌生——這或許才是記憶存在的 真實型態。

記憶是如此稍縱即逝、難以把捉，曾麟媛更透過她的畫作 清楚地說明了：人們所能留住的，從來都只是記憶不斷消 逝的狀態。於是，在〈落雨〉、〈漪〉、〈沫〉與〈碧波 粼粼〉可以看見，藝術家如何藉著水面的反光、漣漪的波 紋，乃至不均勻的色澤，表現出水的動態。無論藝術家的 創作過程，或者在觀看當下，眼前的水似乎都難以定著， 而「無法定著」的動態，或許才是在此處藝術家所描繪的 重點。藉由顏料的物質性存在，藝術家捕捉到倏忽而逝的 記憶，同時，也正是顏料本身的物質性，提醒了觀者眼前 的漣漪、落雨與浮沫，實則都不過是繪畫的幻術，真正的 記憶從來只存在於不復存在的過去。 關於上述記憶的悖論，曾麟媛在〈月光曲〉之中做出了詩 意的表達。在畫面中看不見月亮，卻只見月光在粼粼波光 之間晃動。因月光看見月亮，因漣漪看見了雨，記憶往往 是以缺席的型態存在，卻又是在缺席之中召喚著、引動著 人們。 在諸般遊走於抽象與具象的嘗試之間，描繪家鄉的〈白地 晴〉則彷彿位處在這一切探問的底端，又或者所有疑惑的 始點。藝術家如實畫下晴日裡的故鄉白地，在豔陽照耀之 下，田野豐饒的顏色，在此處相較於前述曖昧的光影，顯 得那麼明晰。然而，這或許即是記憶悖論的終極：正是在 遠離當下之後，人們才得以追摹往事；然而，當我們找回 往昔的記憶，又將恍然明白自己早已離它而去。

曾麟媛Lin-Yuan ZENG | 蝶影群生Alike as Butterflies | 壓克力、畫布 Acrylic on canvas | 100 x 100 cm | 2020

Everything will Flow

Write / Chu-Chun HSU

In 2022, Lin-Yuan ZENG's new works exhibition- " Everything will Flow " shows a clear change in the way she wants to capture things that are not just what they were, but also the colors, light, and shades of her memories.

In the eyes of artists, memories are never unique, but are constantly changing. Lin-Yuan ZENG clearly reveals that she does not use paintings to bring back images or objects she has seen, but rather allows the medium to act as a blocking agent, showing a seamless difference between memory and real life.

Although the beginning of the series painting “Alike as Butterflies” still retains a clear outline, the color of the orchid branches and leaves shows that artist has shifted her focus to the surface of the plant, not just on its shape of the plant.

In the painting "Symbiosis” she skillfully applied the acrylic color characteristics- transparent, thin, and easy to impasto to make the uneven light circle. The only thing you can see is the light and color reflected on the surface of the orchid root, except for the dark trunk that occupies half of the picture and the intersection of lines across it. In " The Drops on Cobweb " can also be seen in the dark as if there were no end to the darkness and capturing the brightness and flicker of dew on a spider's web. Instead of tracing the color and shape of the waterdrops, she captures the moment the water glows in the dark night.

Unlike in the past, artists used glue to hide the shapes of vines and other plants, covering the layers with paint before tearing them apart. After the unveiling, the objects that were previously thought of indifferent to the canvas. In the painting, the artist looks back at the memory from a distance, and at the same time, between repeated obscuration, lifting, staring, and covering, the memory changes its appearance, sometimes causing people to change. Familiarity, and sometimes

unfamiliarity, may it be the true forms of memory.

In her paintings, artist clearly explains that all people can keep is the state of their memories, which is always fading away. Thus, in the paintings of “Fall”, “Ripples”, “Foamy” and “Sparkling”, you can see how artist express the movement of water through the reflection of water's surface, ripples, and even uneven colors. Regardless of the artistic creation or ways of seeing, it hardly to recognize that the water at rest, and perhaps that's what the artist here wants to describe. Through the material nature of the paint, the artist captures fleeting memories, and at the same time the material nature of the paint itself reminds the viewer that ripples, raindrops, and foams in front of the viewer are nothing more than illusions of painting skills. The reminiscences never existed but only in the past.

Lin-Yuan ZENG expresses the paradox of the above memories in “Moonlight”. The moon was not visible in the picture, but the moon was swaying between the waves, memories often exist in the form of absent but in the form of absent they beckon and move people.

Between abstract and figurative attempts, the painting of " Baidi, My hometown " seems to be at the bottom of all this inquiry, or the beginning of all doubts. The artist vividly depicts her hometown on a clear day, where the rich colors of the fields in the bright sun are so clear as to compare with the dim light and shadows what we described earlier. But perhaps this is the end of the memory paradox: When we far from the present, only that people can recall the past, but when we recover our old memories, we will realize that we have left it for a long time.

曾麟媛Lin-Yuan ZENG | 樹生藤Symbiosis | 壓克力、畫布Acrylic on canvas | 80 x 65 cm | 2020