Signal and Relay, Longli, Guizhou, China, 2017. Local bricks, mortar, mirror, grout, stones, 36 x 3 x 4'.
Laura的工作涉及对雕塑对象的研究、装置、策展项目以及与企业合作，她一直很关注人类在世界上所处的位置，探讨我们在世界上支持自己的方式，并以艺术史为参考去创造新的意义以及具有变革性的故事。
Laura Boles Faw
19 September 2017
Project Statement: Second Longli International New Media Art Season
When I was invited to participate in the Second Longli International New Media Art Season, I started to research Longli and immediately became intrigued by the rich cultural history of this place. However, trying to comprehend a place through research alone is never adequate. Upon arrival here, those flattened images became a beautifully expansive and nuanced reality, one that I know will continue to unfold for me in the coming days.
当我收到隆里国际新媒体艺术季的邀请之后，我便开始查阅关于这个村庄的资料，当地深厚的文化历史背景打动了我。然而，完全了解一个地方光靠搜索引擎肯定是不够的，只有身临其境，才能将那些苍白刻板的照片变成美丽、充实、而又细腻的真实画卷，而这正是我切身体会到的，也是在我来到这里的日子里不断延展开来的。
Within my work, I often investigate the sculptural and spatial realms and am intrigued by the dynamism and play between structures in the built and natural environments. Therefore, having the opportunity to work in this particular location of natural beauty and within a historic town is a gift.
在我的工作中，我一向喜好去探究那些具有雕塑性和空间性的地域，不自觉地被这些地域的可动性深深吸引住，继而创造性地游走在当地的人文或自然环境中。因此，我感到非常荣幸能来到隆里这个兼具自然风光与人文风采的地方工作。
As an artist coming here from the West, I have thought about the ways we make connections in the world and broaden our understanding through artistic and cultural exchange. In my own work, I attempt to make connections by compressing contemporary and historical sources from different times and places. For this project in Longli, I have sought to again mash-up cultural influence in an attempt to create new understandings. Several years ago, I was made aware of a particular type of wall, sometimes called a “serpentine” wall, that is thought to have originally been built in England by Dutch engineers (and was later used by Thomas Jefferson in the United States). The wall is curvilinear, making it strong while at the same time using a minimum number of bricks. It is not just practical though and is beautiful in its meandering quality. This wall is also usually built on a trajectory from east to west which I found to be of significance for this project.
站在一个西方艺术家的立场上，我曾思索过我们与世界各地建立关系的方式，以及我们是怎样通过艺术和文化交流来扩展我们的认识的。在我的创作中，我试着通过精炼不同地方不同时间点的当代或者过去的资源来建立这种联系。具体隆里的这个项目中，我就试着将不同的文化影响杂糅到一起来构建一种全新的认识。许多年，有一种起源于荷兰工程师在英国修筑的、有时被称作“蛇形墙”的艺术形式引起了我的注意。这种墙的形状蜿蜒曲折，在兼具牢固性的同时也将砖块的消耗降到了最低。它不仅仅是一项实验性的操作，而是在曲折的材质中寄予了美学考虑的实践。另外，这种墙通常被建筑在一条“自东向西”的轨道上，这启迪了我在隆里的项目中寄托的意义。
Longli was built as a fortressed city, its outer wall protecting the population within. The wall, as it stands today, is a majestic structure, signaling strength but it is no longer needed to protect the city. So for me, the form of the serpentine wall feels symbolic in this location. It is not about building a wall for protection, to keep someone out or someone in. Here it becomes a sculpture, an object of contemplation and of self-reflection.
隆里原本是作为军事屯堡被建立起来的，它的城墙保护着居住在里面的人们。这些耸立至今的城墙，庄严肃穆，虽然不再需要发挥戍卫的功用但仍然是一种力量的象征。因此，在我看来，蛇形墙可以恰如其分地成为当地的象征物。其内涵无关保护，不是将一部分人围在里面、将一部分人隔绝在外面；而是一件集沉思与自省与一身的雕塑作品。
Wandering through Longli, I noticed the many dragon designs on the cobblestone streets. The dragon’s serpent-like body is suggestive of the winding Long Xi River (meaning ‘river of the dragon’) and so the sculptural wall is being located along its banks, near the north side of the Red Army Bridge. The sculpture, constructed of brick, meanders and has a stepped elevation to signify the tail of the dragon. On the south side that faces the river, the bricks will be exposed. On the north facing side, along a cobblestone path, the wall will be covered in a mirrored mosaic, the design of which is inspired by the many cobblestone streets within and around the town of Longli. I am interested in how the history of those streets reflects its citizens and its past, and is also a place upon which new histories are made. The cobblestone patterns on the streets, recreated in mirror and turned upright, will literally reflect the contemporary moment within such a rich historical and ecological context.
漫步隆里的时候，我注意到鹅卵石铺成的街道上有很多中国龙的图案。龙那蜿蜒曲折的身体仿佛正是盘绕着隆里的龙溪河的隐喻，所以我决定让我的作品坐落在小河的三角洲上，紧邻北面的红军桥。这件雕塑由砖块和曲线构成，还有一个层层叠高的设计用于象征龙尾。在面朝河流的南面，砖块暴露在外；而在北面，墙体会沿着一条鹅卵石小径被镜像马赛克掩盖。这样的设计灵感来源于贯穿隆里内外的许许多多的鹅卵石路。居住在此的人们，村子的过去，这些痕迹如何被反映在这些道路上令我非常感兴趣。同时，这些道路也是新的历史篇章书写的媒介。在我的设计中，道路上鹅卵石的纹路在镜面中重构并上下倒置，能够文学性地折射出丰富的历史与生态语境下的此时，此刻。
[Interview from http://artlongli.com/portal/article/index/id/104/cid/3.html]