Steven Tsang: essay on Jan Svankmajer’s Jabberwocky
Writing Essay
TSANG Chun-leung, Steven 曾俊良
Student of SM2105 Narrative Strategies and Aesthetics of Time-based Media
Abstract
An assembly line of human figures grinding human figures for food, dolls feed dolls, doll eats dolls. Ironing, flattering, being dressed, being cut up, being tamed… Steven Tsang (TSANG Chun-leung) sees the dramatization of carnivorous acts as more than the pure exercise imagination. The politics of nonsense is not just linguistic gibberish or random image association, but structured against the paradigm of human civilization; and that requires a narrative strategy beyond regular story-stelling. Svenkmajer wants us to see differently, and asks a different sort of questions in following a narrative.
看到喂小娃娃的大娃娃就知道是女的，看到舞動的水手裝就自動知道是男的。再看下去，人吃人，有血有肉的黑貓時不時推倒積木，一面是歷史砌圖，另一面是迷宮的路線；頑皮也好，冥頑不靈的顛覆也好，最終，它被鎖在籠裏動彈不得。除了牆上掛的攝影人像之外就一個「人」也沒有，屋子裡卻充滿了人類的活動。物件長年累月吸收了人類強加它們身上的「用途」、「價值」，也穿背著人類的規範，像鬼魅的模仿著我們的「正常」活動。這會是純荒誕或「無釐頭」嗎？曾俊良看到歷史、文明、性別的社會結構；他能看到，因為看穿了動畫大師史文梅耶以物件為本的獨特敘事結構和跨媒想像。
