Nina Pryde 派瑞芬
High Hopes 前途無限, 2019
Ink and mixed media on paper 水墨，混合媒介拼貼紙本
70 x 70 cm
Copyright The Artist
In High Hopes (2019), Nina Pryde expresses how children are the future pillars of the society. A group of young school children carrying schoolbags are featured at the bottom of...
In High Hopes (2019), Nina Pryde expresses how children are the future pillars of the society. A group of young school children carrying schoolbags are featured at the bottom of the painting’s foreground. Pryde noticed them one day as they were walking to school in the morning and immediately took a picture of them. The children represent an earnestness and eagerness to learn and gain knowledge. The collage print of the group of small children are shrunken down to juxtapose the magnificent, towering grey moun-tains. Even so at the face of such a large obstacle hindering their pathway to attend school, they never cower or hesitate. Instead, they stand tall as they unceasingly continue their seemingly endless journey to school with long strides. The bright sunlight casts a warm glow on the backs of the children, which symbolises the children’s optimistic dreams for their own futures, and also Pryde’s hopes and aspirations for them.
It is germane to discuss how the painting reflects the artist’s own experiences. Pryde grew up in an impoverished family and had to give up her education in order to work and provide for them. Despite of this, she never admitted defeat. Instead, she attended night school informally just to learn English and typing. Even when she achieved financial stability, she never stopped learning. She fol-lowed her passions and attended fashion design, pottery and ink painting classes as part of her relentless creative pursuits.
High Hopes (2019) is a seminal reflection of the artist’s techniques. The rocks and mountain at the background of the painting are marked by their layered blackness. Pryde adopts an “ink-splashing” technique to convey the volume and perspective of the rocks. As such, High Hopes (2019) can be compared to Lui Shou-Kwan’s work, which is recognised for its abstractedness and representation that focuses on the image’s ability to emote the individuality and spirit of the artist.
派氏於《前途無限》裡拍攝了一群小孩向著前方前進的模樣，並只取其背面，沒有特定拍攝他們的正面表情到底是如何。這令觀者思考小孩們當時的心情是怎樣，加強了玩味感。此作的觀賞重點不在於其水墨的形態表達，反觀其重心卻是小孩們的貼圖。派氏處理其山水脈絡比其它作品更為隨意，潑墨的手法不濃不淡，卻不難看出其墨蹟斑斑躍然於畫面上，遠看更像是一個未知的星河黑洞，像是暗喻未來是未知的無盡。其潑墨手法甚有水墨大師呂壽琨的影子，呂壽琨後期的畫作深有禪意。其抽象「一點一橫」式的水墨手法墨跡明顯，感覺寫意簡約，又能看出其運筆的勁道深厚，而派氏其運筆的奔放與勁道都與呂氏的風格有所重疊。
雖然在宏大的水墨山水格局中，下方的小孩顯得格外渺小，但派氏卻用上溫暖的黃色墨彩作對比，喻意純潔的小孩是未來的希望。
諺語有云：「讀萬卷書，不如走萬里路。」此句不是勸人放棄學問，反是勸人多吸收知識才有能力走萬里路，透過遊歷吸收經驗，方能學以至用。這是派瑞芬描繪《前途無限》的中心思想，亦是對於年輕人寄予希望；別讓前方的未知矇騙我們的初心，即使前方是漆黑一片，但要懷著希望，最終都可以否極泰來並打破困局，成為社會的棟樑。
It is germane to discuss how the painting reflects the artist’s own experiences. Pryde grew up in an impoverished family and had to give up her education in order to work and provide for them. Despite of this, she never admitted defeat. Instead, she attended night school informally just to learn English and typing. Even when she achieved financial stability, she never stopped learning. She fol-lowed her passions and attended fashion design, pottery and ink painting classes as part of her relentless creative pursuits.
High Hopes (2019) is a seminal reflection of the artist’s techniques. The rocks and mountain at the background of the painting are marked by their layered blackness. Pryde adopts an “ink-splashing” technique to convey the volume and perspective of the rocks. As such, High Hopes (2019) can be compared to Lui Shou-Kwan’s work, which is recognised for its abstractedness and representation that focuses on the image’s ability to emote the individuality and spirit of the artist.
派氏於《前途無限》裡拍攝了一群小孩向著前方前進的模樣，並只取其背面，沒有特定拍攝他們的正面表情到底是如何。這令觀者思考小孩們當時的心情是怎樣，加強了玩味感。此作的觀賞重點不在於其水墨的形態表達，反觀其重心卻是小孩們的貼圖。派氏處理其山水脈絡比其它作品更為隨意，潑墨的手法不濃不淡，卻不難看出其墨蹟斑斑躍然於畫面上，遠看更像是一個未知的星河黑洞，像是暗喻未來是未知的無盡。其潑墨手法甚有水墨大師呂壽琨的影子，呂壽琨後期的畫作深有禪意。其抽象「一點一橫」式的水墨手法墨跡明顯，感覺寫意簡約，又能看出其運筆的勁道深厚，而派氏其運筆的奔放與勁道都與呂氏的風格有所重疊。
雖然在宏大的水墨山水格局中，下方的小孩顯得格外渺小，但派氏卻用上溫暖的黃色墨彩作對比，喻意純潔的小孩是未來的希望。
諺語有云：「讀萬卷書，不如走萬里路。」此句不是勸人放棄學問，反是勸人多吸收知識才有能力走萬里路，透過遊歷吸收經驗，方能學以至用。這是派瑞芬描繪《前途無限》的中心思想，亦是對於年輕人寄予希望；別讓前方的未知矇騙我們的初心，即使前方是漆黑一片，但要懷著希望，最終都可以否極泰來並打破困局，成為社會的棟樑。