山上的風依舊香──伊誕．巴瓦瓦隆個展 Etan Pavavalung: Mountain Winds Remain Sweetly Fragrant

藝術家 Artist：伊誕．巴瓦瓦隆 Etan Pavavalung

展期 Date：2024.09.14 – 11.10 10:00 – 18:30（週一休館 Closed on Mondays）

地點 Venue：亞洲藝術中心 Asia Art Center（台北 Taipei）

這是最最遙遠的路程，來到以前出發的地方──胡德夫〈最最遙遠的路〉

伊誕．巴瓦瓦隆即將在2024年9月14日至11月10日於亞洲藝術中心（台北）舉辦的個展「山上的風依舊香」，是延續與回應自2014年在北美館個展「山上的風很香」的概念，那是伊誕在經歷2009年莫拉克風災後的首次個展，更是其創作生涯中第一次大型且具脈絡整理的個展。而時隔10年，本次個展「山上的風依舊香」，分別以「風」與「靈鳥」兩種形象寓言著伊誕在藝術中的世界觀。在伊誕的的觀念中，靈鳥象徵著永恆的存有，即使物換星移，生命、萬物都無可避免地隨時間流轉與變化，但因為那永恆的牽引，才讓山上拂來的風依舊是香的。

2009年的莫拉克風災不僅破壞了伊誕．巴瓦瓦隆所居住的大社部落，災後的異地安置也致使他重新省思人與自然環境的羈絆。對伊誕而言，莫拉克風災是橫亙在其生命與創作歷程中重大的轉捩點，本就以藝術創作長期為原民權益服務的他，在災後更進一步將藝術視作一種心靈重建的工程，不僅是對舊大社部落的重建想望，也盼維繫在災後遷居他處的精神歸屬。災後遷居於「禮納里部落」，是集合原本的大社、瑪家、好茶三個部落的永久村聚落，而雖然他們在這裡的家屋名為「永久」，但包含伊誕在內的多數族人，仍然嚮往著回去那山上原本的家。「原鄉部落的水，好喝的非常啊！沿著溪流起風時，是多麼的香啊！」就在一次耆老吟唱的古調中，呼喚起他記憶中那在山中的風香，也啟示著自於先民那與自然大地互動的生命智慧。於是伊誕以「紋砌刻畫」的獨特手法，反覆將傳統的排灣族紋飾體系轉化為當代視覺系統，這個重複的過程猶如古老的語言和文化教育，Tjasiumalj tjasiumalj ── 重複再重複，經由不斷使用與修正的累積下，伊誕透過這種圖像系統與過去溝通，再將命題放回當下。

自2014年在北美館的個展以來，「風」便一直是貫穿在其創作中的一個基本要素，風傳遞消息、帶來希望，也維繫生命、撫平傷痛，而靈鳥指引的道路亦偃藏在風中；就如同在古調中的風帶起了香味，緻密的風紋串連著其作品中的敘事主體，彼此互相牽引著密不可分。當時伊誕受到啟發，寫下了一段詩句：

這些景 這些事
印記在風災肆虐的土地上

我想要上山
讓心靈隨風走往
傾聽靈魂心旋樂音的居所
在溪水詠讚的大地間
我要重新披上
哼唱原味氣息的風彩衣

在夢境中切記
山上的風 依舊香

伊誕擷取其以前寫過的詩句，藉「山上的風依舊香」為題，彷若以自己的話語回應耆老的提醒，也響應著他在這十多年來心靈重建的想望；每年依循傳統路徑返回舊大社祭祀、整理，伊誕不僅透過藝術的各種面向重構其心中的精神文化的道，也以實際行動維繫與故鄉的心靈關係。

本次的展出脈絡跨度伊誕近10年的創作，分別以「風」與「靈鳥」兩種概念引領觀眾探詢自己的心靈聖山。展出的作品類型與媒材多元，除廣為人知的紋砌刻畫作品外，也包含全新創作的複合媒材與石板雕刻作品，亦有曾赴澳洲參加2021年亞太三年展的數件作品；以及創作於2017年、曾於國際巡迴參展的大尺幅作品《翱翔》，此作以清晰而簡要的輪廓刻畫出靈鳥於風中翱翔的形象，反映其創作歷程的主要意象，是伊誕於紋砌刻畫美學的標誌性之作。展題中的「依舊」，不僅映照著伊誕．巴瓦瓦隆的創作初心，亦隱喻著以前那山上的風很香的部落或已不再是未竟之地，時過境遷，他想透過展覽告訴大家，山上的風依舊是香的。

“This is the longest course, returning to where we started.” ––Parangalan (De-Fu HU), ‘The Longest Course’

Etan Pavavalung’s solo exhibition Mountain Winds Remain Sweetly Fragrant at Asia Art Center (Taipei) from September 14 to November 10, 2024, continues the concept from his solo show The Fragrant Mountain Winds at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum (TFAM) in 2014. That exhibition was Etan’s first solo exhibition after Typhoon Morakot, and was also the first large-scale and coherent solo exhibition in his artistic career.

After a decade, the solo exhibition Mountain Winds Remain Sweetly Fragrant uses “winds” and “spiritual birds” as metaphors to represent Etan’s aesthetic worldview. In Etan’s aesthetic, spiritual birds symbolize a kind of eternal existence. Even as time brings irresistible change, vitality, and decline to all things, spiritual birds still guide us a path and ensure that the winds from the mountains remain fragrant, just as they have always been.

Typhoon Morakot in 2009 severely destroyed the Paridrayan tribe where Etan lived, and the resettlement after the disaster also caused him to reflect the bond between humans and the natural environment. For Etan, Typhoon Morakot impacted him deeply; even though he had long utilized his art to advocate for indigenous rights, the typhoon damage leading him to embrace art as a means of spiritual rebuilding—not only for his original Paridrayan tribe but also to maintain spiritual belonging after the disaster. After Morakot, Etan and his community relocated to the Rinari Permanent Housing Community, which combining three tribes from different groups of Paridrayan, Makazayazaya and Kucapungane. Although they now lived in “permanent” housings, many, including Etan, still longed to return to their original homes in the mountains. “Water from the tribal homeland, tasty so very! Along the creek as the wind picks up, how fragrant it is!” Inspired by an elder’s ancient chant that recalled the fragrance of the wind on the mountain, Etan used his unique “Trace Layer Carve Paint” technique to transform traditional Paiwan patterns into a contemporary visual and narrative system. This process, akin to the accumulation of ancient language and cultural education, Tjasiumalj tjasiumalj (means repetition after repetition), allows Etan to communicate with the past while bringing those ideas into the contemporary.

Since Etan’s 2014 solo exhibition at TFAM, “winds” have consistently been a fundamental element in Etan Pavavalung’s art. Winds are like messengers, bringing hope, sustaining life and soothing pain. The path guided by the spiritual bird is also hidden within the wind. Like the scent brought by the wind in the ancient chant, the meticulous wind patterns connect each narrative in his works, intricately linked and inseparable. Inspired by that ancient chant, Etan wrote a poem capturing the essence of the wind’s message:

These sights, these events
They are engraved into a typhoon-ravaged land

I want to head up the mountains
Letting my heart follow the wind
Chasing the musical notes in my souls
Notes that compose the odes of the creeks
I want to be cloaked once more
By the colorful singing winds

Lingering in my dreams
The ever-fragrant winds of the mountains.

The exhibition title Mountain Winds Remain Sweetly Fragrant echoes Etan’s poem and serves as a response to the elder’s reminder, reflecting his desire for spiritual reconstruction over the past decade. Through this exhibition, Etan not only reconstructs the spiritual and cultural path in his heart but also maintains a connection to his homeland through art and action.

This exhibition spans nearly a decade of Etan’s artistic thoughts, guided by the dual concepts of “winds” and “spiritual birds,” leading viewers to search their own sacred mountains. The works on display include his most well-known “Trace Layer Carve Paint” pieces, newly created mixed media works and slate carvings, as well as several pieces that were part of the 10th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art in Australia in 2021. And a remarkable large-scale work Flyng, created in 2017, which has toured internationally. This piece, with its clear and concise composition, depicts a spiritual bird flying in the wind, reflecting the primary imagery in Etan’s artistic journey and is a hallmark of his “Trace Layer Carve Paint” aesthetic. The word “Remain” in the exhibition title not only reflects Etan Pavavalung’s artistic origins but also symbolizes that the tribe in the mountain that once blew the fragrant wind is no longer an unreachable place. Thought time flied, Etan seeks to convey through this exhibition that the mountain winds remain sweetly fragrant.