Stitching East and West

Article Information

Creative Arts Educ Ther (2017) 3(1):26–43DOI: 10.15212/CAET/2017/17/4

Stitching East and West

针线缝补东方与西方

Ingrid Wang, Deborah Green

Whitecliffe College of Arts and Design

Abstract

In this collection of creative vignettes, two immigrants – one Chinese and one African – explore difficult experiences caused by migration. The tale began several years previous to this when Ingrid Wang, an arts therapy student, grappled to express how moving from China to New Zealand has silenced her sense of self. Deborah Green, then a lecturer in the early stage of her academic career, witnessed Ingrid’s struggles and responded by drawing on her own experience of emigrating from South Africa to New Zealand. This story then moves to the present as both Ingrid and Deborah reconnect when Deborah begins supervising Ingrid’s Master’s research project and the core motif of stitching is woven throughout this arts-based conversation. Using Skype, telephone, email and snail-mail, they stitch together the geographical distances between the two cities in which they live – Ingrid in Auckland on the North Island and Deborah in Christchurch on the South Island. Through art-making and creative writing, they stitch together the metaphorical distances that manifest themselves in various ways through migration, language and cultural differences.

摘要

在本文中汇集的短小艺术片段中，两个移民 – 一个中国人和一个非洲人 – 一起探索她们曲折的移民经历。故事是从在几年前开始的，当正在学习艺术治疗的Ingrid Wang探索着如何表达她从中国移居至新西兰后自我被压抑感受时，当时还在学术生涯初期的讲师Deborah Green目击了Ingrid的努力后，用绘画表达她自己从南非移民到新西兰的经历来回应Ingrid的故事。Deborah和Ingrid的故事随之回到现在，Deborah开始了对Ingrid的硕士研究项目的督导，两人也因此再次取得联系，而针线缝合这一象征由始至终穿插在她们的艺术本位研究的对话交流中。通过Skype、电话、电邮和信件，两人缝合了她们之间的地理间距：Ingrid住在北岛的奥克兰，Deborah住在南岛的基督城。两人通过艺术创作和创意写作的过程，缝合了她们之间由于移居经历、语言和文化不同而表现出的象征性距离。