Si So Mi
Director: Zhang Xu Zhan, 張徐展
Duration: 00:06:02; Aspect Ratio: 1.778:1; Hue: 47.573; Saturation: 0.308; Lightness: 0.089; Volume: 0.217; Cuts per Minute: 13.084
Summary: In Zhang Xu Zhan’s work Si So Mi the artist’s familial, traditional craft of making objects from paper that are burnt at funeral ceremonies as an offering to the afterlife, provides a contemplation on the boundaries between life and death, especially as material cultures are rapidly dying in favour of digital. Set to a German song that is also popularly played during funerals in Taiwan, paper-mice perform a funeral procession. Consistently interested in the intelligence and survival instincts of small animals, in this work the artist also pays tribute to other-than-human sentience, as these rodents are able to navigate urban living contexts, constantly threatened by annihilation, even as larger more powerful animals have been segregated to diminishing forested areas globally, displaying resilience that could potentially lead them to a future humanity may have trouble arriving to.
以自己的家庭事業出發，張徐展的〈Si So Mi〉將喪禮上作為祭品焚燒的傳統紙紮轉化為創作，在當今物質正快速被數位取代的社會前提下，反思生與死之間的界線。作品的背景音樂為一首經常在台灣喪禮播放的德國歌曲，呈現紙老鼠喪隊的行進影像。張徐展一直以來都關注小動物的生存智慧以及本能；此件作品則致敬那些人類以外的存有。當世界上更大型的動物都被驅趕至日益縮減的林地生存，這些嚙齒動物卻能夠在都市環境裡存活，持續面臨毀滅的威脅。這些老鼠所展現的能耐與韌性，很可能使牠們有能力前往人類未必能達成的未來景緻。
The video was inspired by an encounter with some dead mice around the corner from Zhang Xu Zhan's studio which he first photographed for a series of works contemplating non-human life in Taipei and then buried in his backyard. His studio is close to the traditional markets near New Taipei City which is outside Taipei City. Taipei is divided into various areas based on the socio-economic configurations of its residents. This includes a primarily wealthy region, an urban context, the suburbs and areas where local traditions are still practiced. Several of Taipei's inhabitants live in New Taipei City and commute to Taipei City for work. Traditional markets are not the sanitary spaces that one would expect from a more urban context and are populated with rodents and cockroaches, who even as they are not easily visible lurk in dark and humid corners, often laying very still. Zhan tries to imagine the world from their point of view, their line of sight, the ecology that surrounds them and the overall biological system that they are part of. The survival instincts of these beings in urban contexts that have almost wiped out all other non-human entities are celebrated in this film. While doing so, Zhang Xu Zhan removes human presence in his imagination of their lives, almost as if it were the end of humanity.
The entire setting of the work is constructed from paper, in the traditional craft practiced by his family of making objects from paper to be burnt at funerals in Taiwan as a way to lend material comforts in the afterlife. Still images of this elaborate setting are stitched together into a stop-motion video that animates the small-scale paper sculptures. This familiarity and everyday encounter with death since childhood prompted the artist to imagine himself to be a close friend of the mice that had passed away, and he creates a funeral ceremony that they would perhaps arrange for him.
The opening shot slowly introduces us to the world of rodents, as imagined by the artist, with a piece of glass that reflects light luring the viewers into this reality as if through a portal, decentering the human experience. Even when they are not in view, their auditory worlds are foregrounded.
這部作品以逐格動畫的拍攝方式製作，靈感則來自於張徐展位於新北市工作室附近所發現的死老鼠，令人深思都會區中非人類生物的生命意義。他的工作室靠近新北市的傳統市場，而大台北地區各地的社會經濟結構皆有所差異，包含了富裕的區域、市中心都會區域、郊區與傳統地區等。很多人住在新北市，通勤到台北市區工作。相較於都會超市所強調的明亮與衛生，傳統市場可能是一些齧齒動物和蟑螂所生活的場域，僅管牠們安靜地潛伏在陰暗、潮濕的角落而不容易為人所發現。張徐展試圖從牠們的角度、牠們的視線與牠們所屬的整個環境生態系來重新想像這個世界。在本部影片當中，這些在都市環境生活著的生物，藝術家抹除並頌揚著牠們所有非人類性質的生存本能；這樣做的同時，張徐展也將人類的形象從對這些老鼠生命的想象中移除，彷彿人性的末日一般。
整個作品的場景都是由紙材建造而成，這也是他家人所嫻熟的傳統工藝：紙紮生活物件，在喪禮上燒給亡者，供其在另一個世界享受舒適的物質生活。這些精緻設計的場景與攝影由調整小型紙雕的動作所組成，逐步拼接成一部定格動畫影片。這種自幼對死亡的熟悉和日常接觸，促使藝術家將自己幻想成死去老鼠的親密友人，為其安排一場喪禮。
開場鏡頭慢慢地將我們帶入了藝術家所想像的囓齒動物世界，一塊反光的玻璃將引領觀眾進入這個現實場景，彷彿通過一個門戶，遠離以人為中心的世界觀。 即便不在鏡頭之中，但透過聲音牠們的世界在眼前逐漸展開。
Moving light and shadows are reflected on a piece of gold foil paper on the forest floor, with what appears to be the letter and number “A 12” enigmatically shown. One of the motifs shown in folktales is a character in a forest, who is able to use reflective things, such as the surface of a well, a pond, or a mirror, to see people hiding on top of the forest or trees. In other words, things that were originally concealed behind tree leaves are exposed through a reflective surface. So, the change that this mysterious forest is undergoing is reflected on this gold foil.
reflection
sign
在森林地面中的金箔紙，反射著變動的光影，並且浮現了猶如「Ａ 12」的謎般字樣。在民間譚（folktale）的母題（motif）中，有一項是角色在森林中，通過可反光的物質如井水面、池塘的水面或鏡子，看到森林上空或樹木上的躲藏的人物。意即，原本在樹林中被樹葉隱藏著的事物，藉由可反光的平面被揭露了出來。這座秘密森林的某種變化，正由此金箔紙映照出來。
The march begins with a traditional parade by a band with drums and trumpets following a typical Taiwanese funeral practice. This kind of funeral march is less common in urban spaces but is still practiced in more rural areas. The band is called Si So Mi taking after the music that they perform at the parade, which informs the title of the work. The melody is derived from an old 1933 German song, Ach wie ist's möglich dann. It acquired the more shortened and local name, Si So Mi while it was slowly adapted to a funeral context. Taiwan has a long history of colonization by different countries who have all lent aspects of their culture to the context. The source material mutates and acquires its own local form, and this song is one such example.
這個由鼓和小號帶領的樂隊的遊行隊伍，是一種台灣傳統的喪禮習俗。 這種葬禮遊行在城市地區不常見，但在依然存在於許多鄉下或傳統的地區。 樂隊被暱稱為「Si So Mi（西索米）」，命名是根據遊行中演奏的音樂而來的，這也說明了本影片作品名稱的由來。旋律源自1933 年一首古老的德國歌曲，Ach wie ist 的《möglich dann》。 對於台灣人來說，外來語很難發音，所以將其縮短簡稱為「Si So Mi」進而改編成符合葬禮場合使用的脈絡。台灣長期以來被不同國家殖民，而這些國家各方各面的不同文化視角也因此進入了本地。原文化內涵逐漸變異並轉成了當地自己特有的形式，這首歌就是這樣的一個例子。
funeral march
Worm
Worms are a kind of living creature of multifaceted nature. Considered a living creature, worms are also depicted in folk literature in numerous regions as the origin of life. However, worms also often appear on decaying corpses and their presence is, therefore, also attached to death. Here, the worms are marching and music is playing. The wind instrument musicians also reek of death because of their shriveled bodies. At the same time, the marching rhythm of the worms and the breaths of the musicians are also indicative of life. In this segment, we see life and death overlap and entangle with each other.
蠕蟲（worm）是一種具有多面性質的生物。蠕蟲既是生物，並且在許多地域的民間文學中代表著生命之起源。但蠕蟲又經常出現在腐爛的屍體上面，彷彿伴隨著死亡出現。在此，蠕蟲於音樂的演奏中行進，而吹奏音樂的樂手，也因為乾癟的身軀而顯出死亡的特徵。但於此同時，蠕蟲前行的律動，以及管樂吹奏時的氣息，兩者又代表著生命。在此段中，可見生死的彼此交疊纏繞。
folksong
square dancing
With the German song, “Ach, wie wärs möglich dann”, playing, some in the parade of shriveled mice are heard singing, and there are also sounds of drums being played. At the same time, the mice are also dancing, with movements that resemble morning calisthenics. The tree trunks that the dancing mice are touching have mirror shards on them. These physical movements that resemble life also summon the energy of the dead, while also gently singing in homage to death. The mirror shards on the trunks, perhaps, are reflections or recordings of the many gestures from when these beings where alive.
在這段德國歌曲 “Ach, wie wärs möglich dann” 的歌唱當中，一部分可聽見乾癟的老鼠隊列開始歌唱，並夾雜有小鼓的打擊聲。同時，老鼠們還開始跳起宛若早操的廣場舞。於此同時，舞蹈進行中老鼠所扶著的樹幹上，也有著鏡子的碎片。這些代表著活力的體操，一方面喚醒了死物的活力，一方面輕盈的歌唱則在歌詠著死亡。樹幹上的鏡片，也許反映著，或記錄著這些生命生前的種種姿態。
The voice we hear in the background is the artist's own, repeating the three notes of the song. It is important to him to invert the associations between death and sadness, especially as this funeral could be his own and he has been confronting the notion of mortality his entire life because of his family's trade. When he had seen the mice near his studio, they had been run over by a car and their intestines had spilled outside their body. He tries to represent this in the mice that are visible frontally, commemorating those that he had encountered near his studio. They touch their belly to confirm if they are alive or dead and then play with the intestines. The rest of the mice belong to the band.
我們在背景中聽到的聲音是藝術家自己的聲音，重複著歌曲的三個音符。 對他來說，反轉死亡與悲傷之間的關聯性很重要；而且由於藝術家家族所經營的傳統工藝事業，他的成長過程都必須面對死亡的各種概念。 當他在工作室附近看到老鼠時，它已經被汽車碾過，腸子溢出體外。影面中他試圖用正面站立的老鼠來表現這些老鼠就是他所遇到的那些死亡的乾屍。牠們觸摸自己的肚子，檢查看看自己是死是活，然後揀玩外露的腸子。其餘側面站立的老鼠則屬於樂隊的一部份。
Ceremonial object
With the song repeated, the mice take out some red cords, which appear to be a ceremonial object. This type of red cord has associations of wishing for matrimonial relationship and being tied down. However, as these mice that reek of death dance with these red cords, they are also carrying out a particular ceremony.
在這一段重複演奏的歌謠中，老鼠們拿出了宛若祭器（ceremonial object）的紅繩。這種紅繩很快地讓人想要因緣的聯繫與束縛，而這些有著死亡外觀的老鼠們，操使紅繩跳著舞蹈，進行某種特定的儀式。
As the mice do the red cord dance, they seem to be summoning water that can safeguard and nurture the trees in the forest. It is shown here that through the singing and dancing of the dead, the fountain of life is called upon. By seeing this as a metaphor, it then becomes easy to understand that the bodies of the dead can nurture the lives in the forest when they decay (through the help of worms). However, these trees also seem to be perennial, everlasting, as if these living and dead creatures are making offerings to these undying trees by continuously using their bodies to provide sustenance and to sing and dance.
rites
summon
老鼠們用紅繩之舞，似乎召喚出了足可佑護、滋潤森林樹木的水。此處可以看出死物的歌唱與舞蹈，召喚了維護生命的泉源。若把此當作一種隱喻，則可理解成所有死去的生物軀體，在腐化後（透過蠕蟲）又滋養著森林的生命。不過這些樹木又宛若是長生的存在，彷彿這些有生有死的動物，不斷以自身的養分與歌舞，奉獻給這些長生的樹林。
In Zhang Xu Zhan's neighbourhood in Taiwan, people drown the mice that enter their homes. He recreates it in this scene, where the water levels are rising, but though the mice struggle to survive, they actually endure here.
在臺灣，人們會將捕捉到的老鼠淹死。藝術家在這個場景中重現水淹老鼠的一幕，水位不斷上升，而老鼠卻在掙扎求生，苦苦忍受。
Contrary to what his family's craft would indicate, the artist does not believe in continuity of spiritual life after death but rather presents the material continuity of organic matter by depicting maggots that feed on dead bodies. He believes that life and death are cyclical in the material sense, and not by means of reincarnation and celebrates this. Death to him merely represents the passing of time, and the continuation of life, human or non-human. The mouse wearing a party hat here is actually an apparition, where the artist is once again trying to make sense of continuity, celebrating death, his own death as one would celebrate a birthday. In the original script the maggots walk into a home and disappear but he removed that scene as he did not want to gesture towards the afterlife but the interconnectedness of living beings.
相反於他家傳統工藝事業所象徵的意義，張徐展不相信死後靈魂的延續性，而是通過描繪以屍體為食的蛆來表現有機物質的延續性。 他認為生與死在物質意義上是循環的，而非透過輪迴來頌揚生或死。 死亡對他來說只是代表時間的流逝，無論是人類還是非人類的生命延續的一種方式。 戴著派對帽子的老鼠在這裡實際上是一個幻影，藝術家再次試圖解釋生命與物質的延續性：慶祝死亡，就像慶祝生日一樣慶祝牠自己的死亡。 在最初的劇本中，蛆蟲爬走進入一個家屋而後消失，但他最終決定刪除該場景。因為他不想以此暗示生命有來生，而是僅僅是眾生命之間的相互關聯性。
Kecak
The red cords are tied together into a circle by the mice, and a hat is spinning in the middle. In the end, the spinning hat is placed on the head of a mouse that has just emerged from the ground. It could be a new born but also might have just recently died, who’s existence is confirmed by the reflection in the mirror. This scene immediately sparks associations of the portrait of Jean Cocteau behind an empty picture frame taken by Man Ray in 1922. It also reminds one of the mirror images in Points of No Return by Jorge Molder in 1994. Subsequently, the worms that represent both life and death are spinning in a spiral; they then emerge from the center of the circle and begin to depart from the periphery.
老鼠將紅繩繞成一圈，而圈圈中央的帽子開始旋轉。旋轉的帽子最後其實套在一隻剛出土的老鼠的頭上，這隻既是新生又可能是剛死的老鼠，在鏡子的倒影中確認自己的存在。在這一幕中，立刻可以想到曼·雷為考克多在 1922 年拍攝的相框中肖像。同時也讓人想到 Jorge Molder 拍攝的鏡中肖像 “Points of No Return”（1994）。在此之後，同時代表生與死的蠕蟲，繞成了螺旋的圓圈，自圓心鑽出，並且從外圍開始離去。
spiral
echo
The gold foil is once again seen on the forest floor, echoing with the scene from the beginning. It feels like the spectacular and mysterious singing and dancing ceremony that had just taken place has been quietly recorded on this reflective piece of gold foil. As we gaze at this reflective object, we can catch glimpses of the secretes hidden in this forest and learn about the endless reenactments of the rhythms of life and death.
再次出現森林地面的金箔。此物與開頭的畫面彼此呼應，彷彿剛剛那段神奇的、謎似的歌舞儀式，都已經被靜靜地錄製在此反光的金箔紙中。當我們凝視這反光之物，便能窺看到樹林隱藏的秘密，得知生與死的韻律正在不停地重演。
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