黃巧嫻撰文：柔軟的力量——當元素開始說話

黃巧嫻撰文：柔軟的力量——當元素開始說話

Written by Chantelle Huang：When the Elements Begin to Speak

走進伊斯坦堡 Pera Museum 的展廳，我彷彿踏入一首正在被書寫的詩——以大地、火、水與空氣為語言，由玻璃與石頭訴說。瑞典藝術家 Åsa Jungnelius 的個展《A Verse, Written with Earth, Fire, Water, and Air》在無聲中展開，如同一場以元素為筆的儀式。

Entering the galleries of the Pera Museum in Istanbul feels like stepping into a poem still being written—spoken in earth, fire, water, and air, articulated through glass and stone. Åsa Jungnelius’ solo exhibition, A Verse, Written with Earth, Fire, Water, and Air, unfolds like a ritual composed by the elements themselves.

材料的低語

Whispers of Material

她的創作始於材料。玻璃在火中熔解，由呼吸塑形，冷卻後成為凝固的時間；石材則承載著地層壓縮而成的沉默。當它們在同一個展場並置時，彷彿是兩段地質史相遇：一段來自熾熱深處，一段孕於冰冷年代。玻璃簇群如礦脈的反光，有機形態沿著空氣的軌跡生長；金屬腳手架彷彿為材料搭建骨架，使它們在空間裡既懸浮又沉著。觀者不只在「看」，更像在「聽」——聽玻璃冷卻的細微聲響，聽石頭深層的呼吸。

Her work begins with material. Glass melts in fire, takes shape through breath, then cools into time made visible; stone carries the compressed silence of geological eras. Placed together, they feel like two histories meeting—one born from heat, the other forged in pressure.Clusters of glass reflect like mineral veins; organic forms expand along the pathways of air. Metal scaffolds serve as skeletal structures, allowing the materials to both hover and anchor. The viewer is not merely looking but listening—to the faint crackle of cooling glass, to the deep breath of stone.

從身體到地景

From Body to Landscape

Jungnelius 曾以身體與消費符號聞名，如唇膏、鞋跟等玻璃雕塑；然而此次展覽，她轉向更廣闊的尺度：從肉身延伸至大地。熔融、沉積、蒸發、風化——這些本屬自然的過程，被她化為作品的語法，使材料成為創作的共同參與者。作品在靜謐中藏著力量：人類以火塑造材料，而自然以不可控的力量回應。每一道光澤背後，都有勞動的痕跡，也有地表深處的黑暗。

Jungnelius was once known for works shaped by the body and consumer icons—glass lipsticks, heels, and symbols of desire. Here, she turns toward a broader horizon: from the body to the landscape. Melting, sedimentation, evaporation, erosion—natural processes become her grammar, turning materials into collaborators rather than objects.Her works hold power in silence: humans shape material with fire, and nature responds with forces beyond control. Every sheen on glass bears the mark of labor, every stone carries the darkness of the earth beneath.

伊斯坦堡的文化地層

Cultural Strata of Istanbul

來自北歐的工藝語彙，在伊斯坦堡重新獲得迴響。她與土耳其玻璃工匠共同製作的新作，使展覽呈現跨文化的層次：熔爐的溫度、手藝的傳承、古老器皿的形制，都在城市的歷史脈絡中重新排列。作為 Pera Museum 二十週年展覽之一，這次個展像是在文明交會之處，以材料重新講述地球的故事。

Her Nordic craft vocabulary finds new resonance in Istanbul. Collaborations with Turkish glass artisans bring a layered cultural dimension: the heat of the furnace, the lineage of techniques, and the forms of ancient vessels echo through the city’s long, intertwined histories.As part of the Pera Museum’s 20th anniversary program, the exhibition becomes a retelling of the earth’s story at the crossroads of civilizations.

元素的凝視

Gaze of the Elements

Jungnelius 讓我們意識到：材料從不沉默。玻璃記得火的形狀，石頭記得大地的重量，空氣與水在作品的微光與空隙中游移。或許，我們看到的已不只是物質，而是元素在說話——而人類，只是在這首詩中暫時停留。

Jungnelius reminds us that materials are never silent. Glass remembers the shape of fire; stone remembers the weight of earth; air and water drift through the works’ glimmers and gaps. Perhaps what we see is no longer mere matter, but the elements speaking—and humanity, only briefly passing through the poem they compose.