夜幕低垂，最近M+的LED幕牆上每晚都會放映由藝術家兼電影製作人楊福東創作的委約影像作品《雍雀》（2024），項目由M+與巴塞爾藝術展共同委約創作，瑞銀集團呈獻。長逾一小時的影片穿梭於香港的山野風景和繁華街道之間。主角伍先生重訪生命中的重要之地，路上交織著年輕的自己。《雍雀》富含隱喻，充滿了想像力及存在的反思。M+數碼特別項目製作副策展人辜雪婷與楊福東討論了這件充滿詩意的作品。

「對於這件委約作品，我希望有一個好聽且意象化的名字。這個作品想說的是，當小鳥面對無窮大海要起飛時，也許會有美好的嚮往和願景。至於英文翻譯《Sparrow on the Sea》，你可以把它想像為鳥兒在海面上飛翔的一個慢鏡頭。那種小小的麻雀，賦予自己勇氣，而海面、地平面都支撐着牠。我在想，當人慢慢變老的時候，是不是還可以充滿勇氣，去做一些開心、嚮往的事兒？」

「一開始收到M+的創作邀請時，我就想在香港拍這個片子。香港攝影師何藩先生的作品，有很多是關於香港這個城市的光影，也是對時間或是對城市質感的紀錄。我對於很多東西有自己的理解，但也吸收了他的一些養分和很多美學的質感。」

「《雍雀》片頭的漁民在海邊發現了一個箱子，但不知道箱子的主人是誰，鏡頭一晃，漁民正在注視着攝像機，代表他們對主角的關注。鏡頭再一轉，有一個人在海邊準備拿起箱子，那就是主角伍先生。然後故事開始。」

「伍先生有點像是一個五十歲的先生，分別由三位演員扮演。其中兩位扮演年輕的伍先生──像是白天和黑夜一般的兩個面向，還有一位是年老的伍先生。三位伍先生都在這個城市裏留有痕跡，並交織在一起，所以你會在一個房間裏，看到這邊年輕的伍先生在跳舞，而那邊三十年以後的伍先生在照鏡子，是一種時空交錯相遇的感覺。」

Throughout his career, Murakami has declared an admiration for Andy Warhol, however his practice has not only been influenced by American as well as Japanese aesthetics but also the French artistic tradition. In his work, Murakami often refers to Japonisme, and elements of this late-19th-century craze for the decorative arts and traditions of the Land of the Rising Sun can be found in the work of the French Impressionists, notably Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, and Édouard Manet. Murakami recently returned to these exchanges in a series of exhibitions exploring artistic reappropriation, including in a show held at the Kyoto City Kyocera Museum of Art.

Unsurprisingly, the artist’s connection to France can be seen throughout much of his career. One only has to think of the exhibition ‘MURAKAMI VERSAILLES’ at the Palace of Versailles in 2010, which caused a great stir, his talent for marrying sophistication and elegance on full show, in a setting synonymous with Age of Enlightenment refinement.

Today, Artycapucines VII – Louis Vuitton x Takashi Murakami leaves no doubt about the stature of this master. His work is now included in the collections of the Centre Pompidou and the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris. Such has been the success of the Louis Vuitton x Takashi Murakami collaboration that it has led the maison to work with a whole host of other major contemporary artists: Sol LeWitt, James Rosenquist, Richard Prince, César, and Yayoi Kusama. The first chapter of the new collaboration was presented at Art Basel Hong Kong in March this year.

Under the magnificent glass roof of the Grand Palais, the encounter with Murakami’s creatures produces the same excitement for everyone. As electrifying for his faithful followers as for his new fans, the works that grew from the kaleidoscopic imagination of the Japanese artist will undoubtedly leave a lasting impression.