没出路的《归途》 Homecoming – without the exit
没出路的《归途》
何庆基／香港资深策展人、文化评论人
洪光贤的《归途》，看得令人伤感。影片拍得率直平淡，有些地方近乎简陋。但也正是这没有矫情的平凡中所带出的不公义，更令人戚戚然。影片初段周佩韵打开工作室房门，里面烂石满地，犹如刚被炸弹袭击，周佩韵竟泰然处理，像这是件寻常事，正是这份泰然的接受背后，隐藏着一份悲剧的沉郁。
在任何地方，像艺术工作者这类理想追求者，生活都是艰苦的。但香港的情况较其他地方更恶劣，因为地产霸权导致房地产荒谬地昂贵，根本没有适当的、甚至完全没有足以用作创作和排练的空间。香港可以兴建豪华大型的西九文化区，本地艺术工作者却连稍为具水平的排练或创作空间也没有，政府竟不知羞地吹嘘如何把香港缔造为「国际级文化都会」。令人愤慨的是，担任西九文化区主席的政务司司长，最近竟说文化区的一些重要表演场地，要待香港艺术界达足够的高水平才兴建，像是说不会兴建中小学，却要人家自行先达至大专水平才建大学。
2013－2014 年度， 香港政府的文化相关开支约三十三亿港元，大都用于供养自已辖下、由公务员营运的文化机构及项目，当中包括用了三亿元去支持建制内的九个大团，如管弦乐团、中乐团、芭蕾舞团、进念二十面体等。九大团以外的无数艺术工作者和艺团，唯有透过香港艺术发展局的资助，全数只有九千五百万港元，当中还要扣除约三分之一作艺术发展局的营运开支。就是这种极不公平的制度，做成了两个艺术工作者的苦况。为了等候拨款「打救」的焦虑，可从周佩韵等候艺术发展局通知时的表现体会得到，尽管艺术发展局给予她们的资助，只占其总开支的三分之一。我们的社会相信艺术工作者是不用吃饭，只吃热情的。从事视觉艺术的黄琮瑜，尚可勉强在家内厅中创作，但涉及整个团队的舞者，便不容易有这灵活性。文化生态圈环环相扣，只想搞大骚（编注：做大秀）而不顾及如何建立完整生态圈，妄顾艺术需要由小到中，最后发展成为专业大团的有机历程。影片没有明显地通过这两位艺术工作者去勾划出香港创作生态圈的病态，却透过个人经历，包括他们与家人的关系，带出这令人感无奈的创作环境中的人性一面。
或许是已经习惯了当前的景况，或许是接受了制度不公的现实，两位艺术工作者面对种种局限和困境，学会了淡然处理，最多只是点申诉叹息。制度的暴力，可以磨灭一个人的棱角。影片结尾令人伤感，周佩韵说：「我们现在生存、生活于这个空间，我们可以在限制里如何自处？如何在一个既有框框的限制里扩阔生命？」。我们好像已接受了不公义，在不公义当中希望可以寻求多一点空间，好像黄琮瑜那样在扭曲的制度中坚守理想，这样的艺术工作者，可敬可悲也可怜。
Homecoming – without the exit
By Oscar HO, Curator & Art Critic from Hong Kong
Watching Homecoming directed by Brian Hung made me feel sad. The film was shot in a sincere and direct style; part of it even looks bare and low-budget. However, the injustice shown in such an unpretentious way is what really strikes a chord with its viewers. In the beginning of the film, we see Pewan Chow open the door of the studio, revealing the mess inside; the room looks as if it had been bombed. Nevertheless, Pewan deals with the situation so calmly that it seems to be nothing unusual at all. It is precisely this calm acceptance that masks the deep misery hidden behind the façade.
Everywhere in the world, life tends to be hard for artists or those who persistently pursue their dreams. Nevertheless, the situation in Hong Kong proves to be even worse than most places.
The landowners have such power that the property prices in Hong Kong are kept unreasonably high making it is impossible for the artists to find suitable space for their creative activities. A luxurious project such as the West Kowloon Cultural District could be built, but there is no decent place for the local artists to practice or rehearse. In this case, the government still shamelessly boasts about how they would turn Hong Kong into an “international cultural metropolis”. What is even more outrageous is that the Chairman of the West Kowloon Cultural District, Chief Secretary for Administration of the government, expressed that they would not build any venue until the Hong Kong artists had reached the level regarded high enough. It is just like saying they would only build primary and secondary schools once the students were good enough for college.
Between 2013 and 2014, the Hong Kong government spent around 3.3 billion Hong Kong dollars on culture. Most of the budget went to the state-run cultural agencies, including 0.3 billion Hong Kong dollars on the nine major institutional organizations such as Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra, Hong Kong Ballet and Zuni Icosahedron. Countless art companies and artists excluded from these organizations have had to rely solely on the Hong Kong Arts Development Council, which had a meager budget of 95 million Hong Kong dollars. Furthermore, one third of it went to running the Council. This extremely unfair distribution of funding resulted in the difficulties the two artists in this film are facing. The anxiety they suffer while waiting for the subsidies is seen when Pewen reacts while she is waiting for a reply from the Arts Development Council, despite the fact that the funding from the Council makes up only one third of the total expenses. In Hong Kong, people tend to believe that the artists live on their passion rather than on food. Wong Chung-yu, a digital visual artist, can compromise on the space and works from home, but for the dance company, they are not given such flexibility.
In the Hong Kong’s art scene, nepotism prevails. They focus on the pompous ambitious projects and neglect the importance of building a healthy system, ignoring the fact that the art companies
have to grow and develop organically. The problems in the Hong Kong’s art world are not expressed directly through the two heroines. Nonetheless, by sharing their personal experiences and their relationships with their families, artists show some aspect of how human nature is conveyed to the audiences amid the sense of helplessness they suffer at work.
Maybe they are used to the situation they are in, or maybe they have already accepted the unfairness in the system. Either way, these two artists have learned to calmly deal with all kinds of obstacles and difficulties. The most they do is sigh and mutter sides of complaints.The brutality of the system can mellow a person.
It is truly sad watching the ending of the film. Pewan says, ‘Now we’ve survived, living in this space. We have learned how to live our lives in this confinement, and how to expand our lives within it.’ We seem to have accepted the injustice, hoping to find some space within it, just as Chong-yu keeps pursuing his dreams in that already distorted system. Artists like them are respectable, tragic and pitiful.
何庆基／香港资深策展人、文化评论人
洪光贤的《归途》，看得令人伤感。影片拍得率直平淡，有些地方近乎简陋。但也正是这没有矫情的平凡中所带出的不公义，更令人戚戚然。影片初段周佩韵打开工作室房门，里面烂石满地，犹如刚被炸弹袭击，周佩韵竟泰然处理，像这是件寻常事，正是这份泰然的接受背后，隐藏着一份悲剧的沉郁。
在任何地方，像艺术工作者这类理想追求者，生活都是艰苦的。但香港的情况较其他地方更恶劣，因为地产霸权导致房地产荒谬地昂贵，根本没有适当的、甚至完全没有足以用作创作和排练的空间。香港可以兴建豪华大型的西九文化区，本地艺术工作者却连稍为具水平的排练或创作空间也没有，政府竟不知羞地吹嘘如何把香港缔造为「国际级文化都会」。令人愤慨的是，担任西九文化区主席的政务司司长，最近竟说文化区的一些重要表演场地，要待香港艺术界达足够的高水平才兴建，像是说不会兴建中小学，却要人家自行先达至大专水平才建大学。
2013－2014 年度， 香港政府的文化相关开支约三十三亿港元，大都用于供养自已辖下、由公务员营运的文化机构及项目，当中包括用了三亿元去支持建制内的九个大团，如管弦乐团、中乐团、芭蕾舞团、进念二十面体等。九大团以外的无数艺术工作者和艺团，唯有透过香港艺术发展局的资助，全数只有九千五百万港元，当中还要扣除约三分之一作艺术发展局的营运开支。就是这种极不公平的制度，做成了两个艺术工作者的苦况。为了等候拨款「打救」的焦虑，可从周佩韵等候艺术发展局通知时的表现体会得到，尽管艺术发展局给予她们的资助，只占其总开支的三分之一。我们的社会相信艺术工作者是不用吃饭，只吃热情的。从事视觉艺术的黄琮瑜，尚可勉强在家内厅中创作，但涉及整个团队的舞者，便不容易有这灵活性。文化生态圈环环相扣，只想搞大骚（编注：做大秀）而不顾及如何建立完整生态圈，妄顾艺术需要由小到中，最后发展成为专业大团的有机历程。影片没有明显地通过这两位艺术工作者去勾划出香港创作生态圈的病态，却透过个人经历，包括他们与家人的关系，带出这令人感无奈的创作环境中的人性一面。
或许是已经习惯了当前的景况，或许是接受了制度不公的现实，两位艺术工作者面对种种局限和困境，学会了淡然处理，最多只是点申诉叹息。制度的暴力，可以磨灭一个人的棱角。影片结尾令人伤感，周佩韵说：「我们现在生存、生活于这个空间，我们可以在限制里如何自处？如何在一个既有框框的限制里扩阔生命？」。我们好像已接受了不公义，在不公义当中希望可以寻求多一点空间，好像黄琮瑜那样在扭曲的制度中坚守理想，这样的艺术工作者，可敬可悲也可怜。
Homecoming – without the exit
By Oscar HO, Curator & Art Critic from Hong Kong
Watching Homecoming directed by Brian Hung made me feel sad. The film was shot in a sincere and direct style; part of it even looks bare and low-budget. However, the injustice shown in such an unpretentious way is what really strikes a chord with its viewers. In the beginning of the film, we see Pewan Chow open the door of the studio, revealing the mess inside; the room looks as if it had been bombed. Nevertheless, Pewan deals with the situation so calmly that it seems to be nothing unusual at all. It is precisely this calm acceptance that masks the deep misery hidden behind the façade.
Everywhere in the world, life tends to be hard for artists or those who persistently pursue their dreams. Nevertheless, the situation in Hong Kong proves to be even worse than most places.
The landowners have such power that the property prices in Hong Kong are kept unreasonably high making it is impossible for the artists to find suitable space for their creative activities. A luxurious project such as the West Kowloon Cultural District could be built, but there is no decent place for the local artists to practice or rehearse. In this case, the government still shamelessly boasts about how they would turn Hong Kong into an “international cultural metropolis”. What is even more outrageous is that the Chairman of the West Kowloon Cultural District, Chief Secretary for Administration of the government, expressed that they would not build any venue until the Hong Kong artists had reached the level regarded high enough. It is just like saying they would only build primary and secondary schools once the students were good enough for college.
Between 2013 and 2014, the Hong Kong government spent around 3.3 billion Hong Kong dollars on culture. Most of the budget went to the state-run cultural agencies, including 0.3 billion Hong Kong dollars on the nine major institutional organizations such as Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra, Hong Kong Ballet and Zuni Icosahedron. Countless art companies and artists excluded from these organizations have had to rely solely on the Hong Kong Arts Development Council, which had a meager budget of 95 million Hong Kong dollars. Furthermore, one third of it went to running the Council. This extremely unfair distribution of funding resulted in the difficulties the two artists in this film are facing. The anxiety they suffer while waiting for the subsidies is seen when Pewen reacts while she is waiting for a reply from the Arts Development Council, despite the fact that the funding from the Council makes up only one third of the total expenses. In Hong Kong, people tend to believe that the artists live on their passion rather than on food. Wong Chung-yu, a digital visual artist, can compromise on the space and works from home, but for the dance company, they are not given such flexibility.
In the Hong Kong’s art scene, nepotism prevails. They focus on the pompous ambitious projects and neglect the importance of building a healthy system, ignoring the fact that the art companies
have to grow and develop organically. The problems in the Hong Kong’s art world are not expressed directly through the two heroines. Nonetheless, by sharing their personal experiences and their relationships with their families, artists show some aspect of how human nature is conveyed to the audiences amid the sense of helplessness they suffer at work.
Maybe they are used to the situation they are in, or maybe they have already accepted the unfairness in the system. Either way, these two artists have learned to calmly deal with all kinds of obstacles and difficulties. The most they do is sigh and mutter sides of complaints.The brutality of the system can mellow a person.
It is truly sad watching the ending of the film. Pewan says, ‘Now we’ve survived, living in this space. We have learned how to live our lives in this confinement, and how to expand our lives within it.’ We seem to have accepted the injustice, hoping to find some space within it, just as Chong-yu keeps pursuing his dreams in that already distorted system. Artists like them are respectable, tragic and pitiful.
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