蓋婭的故事-木雕小品展

文Article∕賴永興Lai, Yun-Hsin 、楊北辰Yang, Pei-Chen

       蓋婭Gaia是希臘神話中的大地母神，是原始神祇及宇宙萬有的創造之母，所有神靈和人類的始祖母神。她的故事訴說著開啟天地孕育世界的母性情懷，而藝術家面對從無到有的創作，也呼應著蓋婭的故事，都是精神與肉體的多重投入，方能創造出感動人心的藝術作品。

       以蓋婭的母愛精神為出發點，她的孕育與創造，就像傳統家庭會有父母、祖父母之愛，或僅有父愛或母愛的單親家庭、或由祖父母照顧的隔代教養、孤兒院等條件不盡相同，但培育子女後代的目標都是一致；師傅教導學徒、老師教育學生、職場中前輩照顧後輩、甚至動植物也會有孕育照顧後代的天性，而像蒲公英的種子有像絨球般的白色冠毛，風一吹種子就會被帶到遠處落地生根，這也是植物為了繁衍後代所做演化的努力，一切都是為了繁衍生命與創造未來，提倡這樣的精神正是我們面對社會的一種正向能量，一方面我們要感恩受到父母師長前輩等社會整體的孕育栽培，一方面也要傳承、延續與栽培我們的下一代回饋我們一己的力量，而這正是蓋婭的故事的精神所在！

       台灣木雕創作在學院這個族群已逐漸茁壯，這群青年熱情投入創作木雕，就像回應台灣這塊土地如同母親孕育著他們的藝術養分。在感謝母親的季節，我們邀請2位日本、1位澳門、8位台灣出身的年輕藝術家，以多樣的創作語彙用刻刀雕鑿溫潤的木材，為我們娓娓道來他們心中母愛的種種。

Gaia is the Goddess of the Earth in Greek mythology, one of the Primordial Majesties and the ancestral mother of the universe as well as all spirits and humans. Gaia’s story is about the maternal sentiment of creating the heaven and earth. For artists, the creative process echoes the story of Gaia, and only creativity that involves the multifold participation of body and spirit can produce touching artworks.

Originating from the concept of motherly love, Gaia’s act of creation and cultivation is similar to the love of parents and grandparents in traditional families, even single-parent families with the loving father or mother, children that are brought up by grandparents, or orphanages. Despite the difference in these varying kinds of families, they share the same goal of bringing up later generations. However, the mentoring relationship, student-teacher relationship, the bond between senior and junior employees in the workplace, even animals and plants, all display an instinct to look after the young. For instance, the white fluffy dandelion seeds are carried to distant lands by the wind, a result of evolution to ensure the survival of the plant. All instances such as these are attempts to breed and to create a future. This mindset is a positive attitude towards society; on the one hand appreciating our parents, teachers, and forbearers for their contribution towards society, while on the other hand passing down the legacy and continuing to cultivate later generations. This spirit is the essence of the story of Gaia.

Taiwan wood carvings are gaining recognition across educational institutions. These young artists contribute their enthusiasm toward creating wood carvings as if paying tribute to the land of Taiwan, the Mother that has cared for them with the nourishment of art. In this Mother’s-Day season, Art Influence invites a group of young artists, two from Japan, one from Macau, eight from Taiwan, to showcase the different variations of maternal love through creativity and the warmth of wood carvings.