采访Interview｜了解艺术家刘潇的创作Understanding the Personal Artwork of SHAW
FUTURE VESTIGE / 未来遗址 2020
Liu Shaw (aka SHAW) is an artist and owner of the private design studio, THESHAW. SHAW's distinct style of creations at first glance may seem cold, heavy, and, futuristic but the stories behind her works are personal, ambitious, and emits a sense of nostalgia drawn from the experiences that she has faced. Like the materials in her works, they are reflective of herself and her artistic development, there is always a notion of light that lingers in all the darkness through the hardened surfaces.
刘潇，（也为人所称SHAW），是个人工作室品牌THESHAW的艺术家和创始人。她独特的创作风格初看上去似乎充满冷酷、沉重和未来主义，但她作品背后的故事是个人的、雄心勃勃的，并散发出她过往经历中的一些怀旧感。就像她作品中所使用的材料一样，它们是她的自我以及她的艺术历程的投射，总有一种光的概念通过坚硬的表面在所有的黑暗中徘徊。
Recently we sat down with SHAW to get to know her in an exclusive interview. Let's take a look below:
最近我们有机会坐下来和刘潇来一次独家采访，我们一起来看看采访内容。
Interview Questions
采访问题
1. Tell us a bit about your background
请介绍一下自己？
I am Liu Shaw. I founded my Individual laboratory in 2017 and my own studio brand THESHAW in the same year. I insisted on combining multiple thinking with modern perspectives to create new stylistic works. This studio brand is mainly a projection of my personal rich inner world, and integrates the elements of the future, space, and volume, expressing personal deep philosophical concepts of divinity, spirituality, and religious sense.
我是刘潇，在2017年创立个人研究室，同年创立个人工作室品牌THESHAW，坚持以现代的视角结合多种思维，创造新风格主义的作品。这个工作室品牌主要是我个人丰富的内心世界的投射，并融合了未来、空间和体块元素，表达神性、灵性和宗教感的个人深度哲思观念。
2. Which artists do you think influenced you the most?
你认为哪位艺术家对你产生了最深刻的影响？
Kazimir Severinovich Malevich
卡西米尔·塞文洛维奇·马列维奇（俄国几何抽象派画家）
The Kinfegrinder (1912) by Kazimir Severinovich Malevich. Oil on canvas.
I have always believed that the artist and his works should be full of rebellion and personal philosophy. Malevich’s artistic and individualistic expressions are very modern and even radical. From his paintings, I seem to feel that he creates from the perspective of God, using simple geometric forms to present a unique sense of the painting, letting the viewer feel the extraordinary artistic purity. He is the pioneer of New Mannerism, and I think it is the artist that can affect me most.
我一直认为，艺术家和他的作品都应该是充满反叛和个人哲学思想的，Malevich在艺术上和个人主义的表达上都非常的现代甚至激进，从他的画面中，我仿佛感觉到，他是用上帝视角来创作的，用简单的几何形式在画面上呈现出独特感并让观看者感受到非同寻常的艺术纯粹性，他是新风格主义的开辟者，也是我认为最能影响我的艺术家。
3. What drew you to design over other creative professions?
是什么吸引你成为设计师而不是其他的创意行业？
I studied industrial design during the university. At that time, I gathered many thoughts on my future direction, mainly to observe which things I am interested in. Slowly I discovered that I was obsessed with art and objects, so I went to a related industry after graduation. In 2017, my sense of self began to take shape. I have a strong personal style in my own cognition and aesthetic. Therefore, when I make works, I present them in a more post-modern way. I think that the formation of self is inescapable. It will always grow up. During this time, I chose to express myself in the most familiar way at first, however just because I started here, it did not mean that I would be done here, so in the future, I saw my form of expression would be very diverse, not limited to any kind of identity tag, but as an artist with a strong self-mannerism
我大学是工业设计出身，当时在思考自己未来的方向上做了非常多的搜集，主要是去观察我自己对哪些事物感兴趣，慢慢的我发现自己对艺术品和物件非常痴迷，所以毕业后去做了相关的行业，17年是我的自我开始成型的时候，自己的认知和审美体系都有了很强烈的个人风格，因此我在做作品的时候是更加后现代的一种方式来呈现。我想，自我的形成是无法逃避的，他总会成长出来，在这个时候，起初选择用我自己最熟悉的方式表现出来，但我从这里开始不代表我会从这里结束，所以未来我的表现形式会非常多样化，不限于任何一种身份标签，而是一位具有强烈自我风格主义的艺术家。
LOST SPACE - 1 / 消失的古城 - 1
4. Tell us about your creation process and your studio setup
分享一下你的创作过程，以及你的工作室创建
I am not observing the market and trends like a traditional designer. My creative process is like a process of cultivating my mind. I understand myself, explore myself, and analyze how I express myself to form myself most naturally. I never regard my work as a functional object, most of them are useless. It is more systematic and, these are self-expressions of personal emotions and personality, not any lamps, tables, chairs, coffee tables, etc.
When I had determined that I had the ability and full confidence to present my personal tonality, I started to run a studio, find a venue, analyze myself, find materials, think, and create. Repeating this way, I basically formed my own working environment and atmosphere.
我并非像传统设计师一样去观察市场与趋势，我的创作过程像是修心的过程，了解自己，探究自己，解析自己如何表达才能最自然的形成自己。我也从来不会把自己的作品当作一件功能之用的物件，他们大多是无用的，更装置性的，有个人情绪与性格的自我表达者，并非任何灯具，桌椅，茶几等等。
在我已经确定自己有能力与十足把握可以把个人的调性呈现出来的时候，我就开始去运作一个工作室，找场地，分析自己，找材料，思考，做创作，如此反复，基本上就形成了自己的工作环境与氛围。
There are three adjectives in the central idea of my work: divine, spiritual, religious. From my current personal experience, I realize that the ultimate expression is this image of the unity of form and spirit. So, when I make an arrangement and presentation, I will think more carefully about how to achieve a sense of unity between poetry and divinity. It is used to reproduce visually: the unity of form and spirit of divinity, spirituality, and sense of religion. Therefore, most of my presentations are accompanied by a deeper philosophical nature.
我的作品里中心思想里有三个形容词：神性，灵性，宗教感。我以目前的个人经历体悟到，极致的表达就是这种形神合一的意象，所以我在做排列呈现的时候会更缜密的去思索，如何能够达到一种诗性与神性的统一感，用以在视觉上重现：神性，灵性，宗教感的这样一种形神统一，因此我的呈现大多伴有更深层的哲学性。
RELIC AUREOLE / 日光轮
My concept is usually very elusive. It may be a dream, it may be a momentary feeling, or it may be a beautiful story, none of these can be determined. The surest thing is that I am doing output based on my own spiritual self. All output is the projection of my inner self. And I have doubts about any concluding arguments. Therefore, I can’t explain it, maybe it can just be appreciated, there is no other way to explain it.
我的概念通常都是非常捉摸不定的。或许是一场梦，或许是一个瞬间的感受，或许是一个美丽的故事，这些都无法确定。最确定的是，我是基于个人精神里的自我在做输出，所有的输出都是我内心自我的投射，而且我对于任何总结性的论调都抱以怀疑，所以，我无法解释，也许是只可意会，无可言传。
My creative materials are never limited, but I prefer metals more. They are hard, sharp, heavy, and can be made in any form. This is the reason why I used metal materials in the previous three series. After that, I will understand other materials and will not be limited.
我的创作材料从不局限，只不过我更加偏爱金属，他们坚硬，凌厉，厚重，可以做任何形式，这也是我之前三个系列来使用金属材料的原因。之后我会去理解其他材料，不会局限。
5. So How is the arrangement of designs is defined?
这些设计的排列组合都是怎样被决定分布的？
Personally, I prefer a symmetrical arrangement. In my first SANCTUARY series, my source of inspiration was: Louis Bray. He once wrote a sentence: "Symmetry are the image of order, which is that of evidence itself. " This is a very philosophical expression, and my inner feedback is very close to this image.
个人角度来说，我更偏爱对称的排列形式。在我的第一个精神之所系列里，我的灵感来源是：路易布雷。他曾经写过一句话：" Symmetry are the image of order, which is that of evidence itself. " 翻译过来是：对称是秩序的像，而秩序的象是证据本身的象。 这是一句非常哲思的表达，而我的内心反馈也极其贴近这个意象。
SANCTUARY / 精神之所 （2018）
6. Is there a reason you use glass and polished stainless steel very often in your work and have you ever considered using other materials?
你的作品中经常使用玻璃和抛光不锈钢材料，有什么特殊的原因吗？你考虑过使用其他类型的材料吗？
In the process of my presentation, there is a saying: Originating from illusion is the philosophical idea that I have always upheld. Therefore, in each of my works, there is a sense of illusion. The environment is stretched, compressed, and deformed in the mirror and glass. These playful visual presentations are the illusion that I tend to use, so these two materials are often used.
在我的呈现过程中，有一句话：源于幻象是我一直所秉承的哲学理念
因此我的每件作品里，都会呈现出幻象感。环境在镜面和玻璃里面被拉伸，被压缩，被变形，这些带有戏谑感的视觉呈现是我所倾向的幻象感，所以会常用这两种材料。
7. Tell us how you started your brand. How was the experience of shifting from the fashion industry to design? What were the differences and how did it change you?
你是怎样建立自己的品牌的？又是如何从时尚行业转型到设计呢？这两个行业对你来说的区别是什么，（这些区别）又是怎样改变你的？
I have always believed that art is interlinked, irrespective of any category: music, photography, clothing, perfume, food, and the presentation above the spiritual level, all show the depth of art at different levels. Therefore, the difficulty of transformation basically does not exist.
我一直认为，艺术是相通的，无关乎任何类别: 音乐，摄影，服装，香水，美食，在做到精神层面之上的呈现，都是在不同层次的展现着艺术的深度。所以转型这个难度基本不存在。
The difference is that the clothing and fashion category is more inclined to rapid consumption, and art is not substitutable, but this happens to me to treat the concepts that I want to present and express more harshly. The creation will not become cheap or obsolete due to changes in time or environment, even in ancient times and in the future, it will be a work of art that can withstand scrutiny.
区别就是，服饰时尚类更偏向快速消费，而艺术是无替代性的，但这刚好对我来说会更加严苛的对待自己所要呈现和表达的观念了，一件作品，不会因为时间或者环境的改变而因此变得廉价或者过时，即便放在远古和未来，它都是一件禁得住推敲的艺术品。
LOST SPACE - 2 / 消失的古城 - 2
8. Your journey up to now has been a dark but memorable path for you. Looking back into the past, would you have done anything differently?
就你目前为止的经历而言，是一段黑暗但记忆深刻的旅程，回顾过去，你会做一些不同的事情吗？
Yes, I am more and more aware of the preciousness of independent time.
I will enjoy and cherish my time alone because the aura of people is different from that of people. Most people have impetuous auras. I am sensitive and easily affected, so I prefer pure personal space. If I meet other people, in order to maintain purity and independence, I will limit myself to only one or two people. Other times, I rarely show up outside of my home or studio.
会，我越来越发觉独立时间的宝贵性。我会更享受与珍惜自己一个人的时间，因为人和人的气场不同，多数人的气场是浮躁的，我很敏感容易受影响，所以更喜欢纯粹的个人空间。如果见其他人，为了保持纯粹与独立性，我会仅限一两个人而已，其他时候几乎不怎么出现在家与工作室以外的地方。
9. What is your favorite work that you have created?
在你所有作品中，你最喜欢的作品是哪件？
The first one, SANCTUARY.
It is my first very personal work. I see it more often as if I am looking at myself. The production of works is also a process of releasing myself. It should be said that the personal state at that time was very comfortable and natural, so it was also the most pleasant.
第一件，精神之所。
是我第一件非常个人化的作品，我看它更多时候像是在看自己，产出作品也是释放阶段性自己的过程，应该说那时候的个人状态是非常舒适自然的，因此也是最欢喜的。
10. Please tell us a bit more about the meaning and purpose of some of your collections/works.
请和我们分享更多关于你的收藏和作品，它们的意义和创作目的
I am a person who doesn’t care much about the outside world. I care more about whether this work meets my expectations when it comes out. Therefore, the meaning and purpose of my work are more like metaphors for people. I often feel that I have new ideas. It broke through from my mind, so I had to create, to satisfy the voice in my heart, to comfort myself. My thoughts are attached to the works, but they are in a variety of beautiful or unattractive forms, so I just want to produce more aspects of myself, nothing else.
我是个不太在乎外界的人，我更在乎这件作品出来之后是否符合我心里的预期，所以我做作品的意义和创作目的更加像是在以物喻人，我时常觉得有新的自我想从我的思维里突破出来，因此我不得不创造，去满足心底那个声音，去让自己得到安抚。作品中附着着我的思想，但却是以各种美或不美的形式，所以我只是想产出更多面的自己而已，无关其他。
OCEAN FLAME / 一半海水一半焰火
11. Do you have any works you’d like to highlight
你有想要特别强调的作品吗？
I think it is the next set of works, which will be the most powerful and contagious one so far.
我觉得是下一套作品，会是目前为止，力量最大，呈现最饱满的。
12. When the pandemic is over where would you like to be and do? Any plans for an exhibition or another project?
疫情结束后，你最想去哪里，做什么？有计划展览或开始其他的项目吗？
When I first appeared in China, many people said that THESHAW was an Italian or German brand, but they were very surprised when they knew that it was a Chinese brand. So I also want THESHAW to stand on an international platform to show the new generation of China.
Strength, expressing the aesthetic system of new mannerism, many of my plans were already in preparation before the epidemic, but they were shelved because of the epidemic.
我刚开始在国内露出的时候，很多人说THESHAW是意大利或者德国的品牌，但当知道是中国的品牌就非常惊讶，所以我也想让THESHAW站在国际的平台上去展示出中国的新生代的力量，表达新风格主义的审美体系，像我很多计划是在疫情前就已经在准备的了，只是因为疫情搁置下来。
Overseas, we will not only do exhibitions and brand promotion, which are basic displays. I will also try to carry out some diversified art projects, hoping to change the international perception of Chinese young generation artworks.
海外我们不仅仅会做展览，品牌宣传这种基本的展示，我也会尝试去开展一些多元化的艺术项目，希望能够改变国际对中国年轻一代艺术作品的认知。
A special thank you to Liu Shaw for the interview.
For more information on the artist, please click here
特别感谢刘潇的采访，欲了解更多她的作品，请点击这里
Translation 翻译 Rona Xia
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