Sweeping Away Evil: W.O.W. Shadow Puppet Theater
掃除邪惡：W.O.W.『皮影戲院』
By Emily Mock
文: Emily Mock
Residency Coordinator Clara Lu makes paper cuts with community members in Columbus Park for a W.O.W. Shadow Puppet Theater free workshop. Image credit: Mei Lum // 標題：在W.O.W.的免費『皮影戲院』項目上，駐地項目協調員Clara Lu在哥倫布公園和社區成員們一起做剪紙Mei Lum攝
Before February 16th this year, I will mend my clothes, cut my hair, flip my mattress, sweep the floors, and prepare myself and my spaces to regenerate and receive the good will of the new year. A large part of celebrating Chinese New Year is performing actions that expel the bad luck and evil spirits of the old year while opening space to the new year’s good luck. We sweep our homes to sweep away evil. We come from legacies of confronting evil to realize power and healing for ourselves and our communities.
為了迎接新年的善意和讓自己和周圍的環境與空間再生，我會在今年的2月16日之前修補衣裳，理發，反動床墊，掃地。慶祝春節一大部分是用一些帶有表演性的動作和習俗來驅逐去年的厄運和種種邪惡，來騰出空間迎來新年的好運。「掃塵」飽含著掃除邪惡的意思。我們能為我們自身和我們的社區呈現力量和維護的能力是因為我們來自一個面對過邪惡的歷史。
Landyn Pan, He, Dominic Wong, Clara Lu, Huiying Chan, and Emily Mock (left to right) practice using blade knives and Chinese scissors during a W.O.W. Shadow Puppet Theater workshop. Image credit: Benjamin Lundberg Torres Sánchez // 標題：Landyn Pan, He, Dominic Wong, Clara Lu, Huiying Chan, and Emily Mock （從左到右）在『皮影戲院』作坊上練習採用手工刀和古式剪刀 Benjamin Lundberg Torres Sánchez攝
W.O.W. Shadow Puppet Theater is a community project in Manhattan Chinatown centered on the question “what do you do to sweep away evil?” From October through January, as the 店面 Storefront Artist-in-Residence, I held workshops in the Wing On Wo studio and Columbus Park, teaching paper cutting and shadow puppetry. Participants made their own puppets and devised short plays based on a memory, practice, tradition, or imaginary about how they sweep away evil. These plays were filmed and can be viewed in a month-long storefront window installation at Wing on Wo & Co. at 26 Mott Street NY, NY. It opens on Tuesday, February 13th from 7-9pm.
『皮影戲院』是一項服務曼哈頓唐人街的社區項目。它專注的問點是：“你怎樣掃除邪惡？” 當作一位『店面駐地項目藝術家』，我從10月到1月的期間在永安和的工作室和哥倫布公園舉辦了一系列的剪紙和皮影戲作坊。參加人員根據記憶，實踐，習俗，或幻想裡的畫面，創造了關於掃除邪惡的短劇。有興趣的讀者歡迎在永安和的店面安裝裡觀看這些短劇的影片。店面安裝的開幕設於2月13日，晚上7點至9點。
Four year-old makes a paper cut, assisted by her father and Clara Lu. Image credit: Benjamin Lundberg Torres Sánchez // 標題：四歲的 在父親和Clara Lu的指導下做剪紙 Benjamin Lundberg Torres Sánchez攝
Paper cutting is a deeply old art that has its roots as an intergenerational and communal activity practiced across classes and regions. As an artist and educator interested in what heritage means creatively, I see my role as facilitating time, space, community, and resources to support Chinese diaspora in accessing ancestral arts of paper cutting and shadow puppetry.
剪紙的傳統是有一個古老的，特別包容的來源。無論經濟和社會階層或地區，人民都可以參與這個跨代，公共的活動。作為一位對文物和創意的結合有興趣的藝術和教育家，我的作用在於通過促進時間和空間，社區與資源，來幫助居住在美國的各國華人來使用祖傳的剪紙和皮影戲藝術。
Rocky Chin speaks to the audience of the Sweeping Away Evil Panel on January 25, 2018, featuring panelists Donna Mah, Jes Tom, Melanie Wang, Muriel Miguel, and Fay Bonas and moderated by 店面 Storefront Artist-in-Residence Emily Mock. Image credit: Eric Jenkins-Sahlin // 標題：Rocky Chin在 2018年1月25日的『掃除邪惡小組對談』面對觀眾發言。小組對談嘉賓由於Donna Mah, Jes Tom, Melanie Wang, Muriel Miguel, Fay Bonas，與『店面駐地項目藝術家』主持人Emily Mock。Eric Jenkins-Sahlin攝