ARTISTS >  YANG Yi | 杨怡

面对中国持续不断的毁坏和消失，杨怡通过自己《没·故里》系列来审视了身份的丧失和记忆的存留。艺术家本人出生在长江边的一个小城镇里，他预示了坝堤最终将如何在造就了一片废墟的过程中淹没了一切。在这个被水淹没的安静的小镇里，人类的生命无法再存在下去，而且将难以避免地被人所遗忘。由于从梦中获得了灵感，这些作品捕捉了他刚刚逝去的孩童时光的精髓，记录了他最后的点滴记忆。他拍摄了这座城市最后几位居民之后，从观念上将它们沉入水中，沉入在日常的背景当中，这是一个充满期盼的象征，希望这些记忆将会历久弥新。

UPROOTED
By YANG Yi
One morning, I don’t remember when exactly, I woke suddenly in a sweat, my heart pounding in panic. I was left with just a hazy memory of my dream.
In the dream, I was clothed, walking up and down familiar alleyways. I revisited my old school, was blinded by the dazzling light radiating from the cinema, visited the riverside where I used to swim, the rooftops where I would retreat for a breath of fresh air, the winding pathways… Everything was shrouded in darkness, deserted; no friends or relatives were anywhere to be seen. In my dream, bubbles were rising and objects floating: where were they coming from? It became more and more difficult to breathe, I desperately tried to grab hold of something, I screamed but no sound came out…
On November 5th 2008, Kaixian, a town that can trace its history back almost 2000 years, was wiped out with the flooding of the Yangtze River. It was finally surrendered to the Three Gorges Dam Project and buried under water. I was last in Kaixian in the summer of 2008 to photograph the town. My hometown, once bustling and full of life, was all but gone.
March 30th 2008: time was already running out, and I rushed back home to photograph a bridge built 29 years ago, due to be demolished. There were between 40 and 50 thousand local people standing along the river’s banks and on the mountain peaks, holding back tears. They were powerless to protect their town, which was already changed irrevocably - the water running under the bridge was no longer clear and the bridge itself, crossed hundreds of thousands of times, was about to disappear. The tears welled up in my eyes as the explosion shattered everyone’s heart.
In 2007, I was back taking photographs there. Already, the mood was oppressive; the old town felt choked with death and despair. Instinctively, I held my breath and as soon as the photographs were taken, I fled.
It was in 2006, camera in tow, that I made the decision to return to my hometown to photograph what was then the beginning of its demise.
In 1994, the Three Gorges Dam project was launched.
In 1993, I left my hometown.
It’s hard for me to pinpoint the emotion behind this series of photos: they’re inspired by happy memories of youth, muddled with the grief of losing my childhood home.
Looking back at the photos now, I find that I cherish them more than ever. I want to embrace and cling on to everything in the pictures.
I am eternally indebted not only to this town, but also the people whose roots were here, who grew up here.
I was born in Kaixian, 37 years ago. The night of the terrible dream, I was back in my hometown, drowning in the deluge of the Yangtze River. By November 5, 2008, the prophecy had been realized, and my home was lost forever.

没·故里
作者 杨怡
我回忆不起究竟是哪天的早晨，从梦中醒来，余温中有点寒意，心头一阵悸动！头脑中留下这样一些模糊画面：我穿戴整齐地穿梭于那些熟悉的大街小巷，曾经就读的学校、光影流转的电影院、下水畅游的河滩、乘凉的屋顶、向上蜿蜒的石梯小径……有些昏暗，不见伙伴不见亲人。哪里来的水泡？哪里漂来的浮物？我难以呼吸，抓不住也喊不出……

2008年11月5日，有着1800年历史的开县老城，在拆毁填平之后被倒灌的长江之水完全淹没，一片汪洋。

2008年3月30日，我赶回老家拍摄一座修建了29年的大桥被爆破拆毁时的场景：4、5万的乡亲们站在桥的两岸、河滩下面和对岸山头，心情复杂噙满泪水，无奈无助地面对早已是满目苍痍的残山剩水。看着这座我不知往返多少次的大桥和那曾经清澈见底，如今早已泛黑的河水，随着“砰”的那声心碎巨响！我也是热泪盈眶满眼模糊。

2008年夏，再次回去拍摄，发现曾经充满生气的县城完全夷为一片平地。

2007年，面对废墟，面对弥漫着腐朽死亡之气的老城，我一次次屏息按下快门又想快速逃离。

2006年，第一次拾起相机，就迫不及待地赶回老家。

1994年，三峡工程正式开工。

1993年，离开故里外出工作，驻留他乡。

……

我很难述说这组照片中的种种，但它来源于魂牵的时间记忆芬芳与梦绕的彻骨冰寒。

重视照片，我发现自己从来没有如此这般珍视、注目画面中的一切，也想拥抱它的一切。

我感激这片土地！更骄傲于曾经生长在这片土地上的人们！
37年前，我出生在此地。

一觉醒来，尽在水下……