Dialogue 對話 Paul Cocksedge

“Eventually it is the people who complete it. They'll change it, modify it.

是城市中生活的人們最終成就了它的樣貌，人也不斷地在改變著它。”

Designer：設計師

Paul Cocksedge is a designer who transforms public spaces by creating innovative, inclusive, beautiful installations. He is responsible for the Kiss Shanghai project, an art piece that was installed at Shanghai XINTIANDI in 2013 that invited the public to lock lips on a stage in order to light up an enormous Christmas tree.

Paul Cocksedge是一位設計師，他善于用富有創(chuàng)新、包容性兼具視覺美感的藝術裝置改造公共空間。他曾在2013與上海新天地合作，帶來“吻之樹”藝術項目，通過邀請公眾登臺親吻彼此以點亮一棵巨型圣誕樹藝術裝置。

Your work is about adapting public spaces and bringing overlooked corners of the world to life. What change would you like to see in the future of public spaces and the attitude towards them?

I like the balance between controlled ideas, creativity, architecture and letting the public change and adapt it. I like the features in a city that haven't been overly considered or designed from an architectural perspective: a little bit of green space in between the council estate, or the wall outside my studio that I perch on and catch the sun – the uncontrolled urban spaces. Of course the design of cities needs consideration, but I think we have to understand that eventually it is the people who complete it. They'll change it, modify it.

One of your most well-known creations is the series of KISS projects. Can you tell us about them?

The KISS project actually began in Milan about 10 years ago. We covered the Duomo of the Galleria Vittorio Ema-nuele II in lights and created a system whereby if people stood beneath it and kissed, the huge dome would light up. The project was a celebration of the fact that humans conduct electricity, and it came from my general interest in making connections. It was a really lovely moment to see this interactive piece with people getting involved, with no instruction book necessary. Especially the Italian people – they love kissing in public. It was joyful. We presented the same concept at Shanghai XINTIANDI, and created the KISS Shanghai.

What was the reaction?

It was amazing. Every type of person was kissing beneath it: teenagers, gay couples, old friends kissing cheeks and hugging each other.

What was your initial involvement in XINTIANDI and what do you like about creating work in China?

I've been exploring working in China over the years, and very graduallywe've begun to do some of our manufacturing over there, visiting Shenzhen, creating a sculpture for Beijing Design Week, networking with different types of people. There's an amazing hunger for ideas and creativity. It has a different rhythm to Europe in a sense – it's moving rapidly in so many different ways. The one thing for sure is there's so many different types of people in China who are excited about ideas, creativity and however that manifests, whether that's architecture, sculpture, shopping centres or music and fashion. It's so interesting for me to wander around and bump into people who have that excitement in their eyes.

“There are so many different types of people in China who are excited about ideas and creativity.

中國各行各業(yè)的人都在不斷尋求創(chuàng)新。”

你的作品主要涉及的是公共空間的改造與更新，讓那些平日被忽視的角落再現(xiàn)生機。你覺得未來的公共空間能發(fā)生怎樣的改變？

創(chuàng)作時，設計師常常需要去把控作品背后的構思、創(chuàng)意、結構等很多方面，當作品呈現(xiàn)在公共空間時，公眾會對它產(chǎn)生潛移默化的改變和影響，我會在這兩者之間尋求一種平衡感。我喜歡城市中那些還沒有被過分設計或者考量的小場景：比如國會大廈間的一隅綠化空間、工作室外我常倚靠著曬太陽的那面墻—那些還保留著一些原始氣息的城市角落。當然城市的規(guī)劃需要被設計，但我們必須明白，是城市中生活的人們最終成就了它的樣貌，人也不斷地在改變著它。

你最為知名的一組作品是KISS裝置，能和我們聊聊嗎？

KISS系列項目大約10年前就在米蘭啟動了。我們將Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II（埃馬努埃萊二世長廊）的穹頂用燈光點綴覆蓋，裝置的啟動機制是當人們駐足其下并親吻彼此，整個宏偉壯麗的穹頂就會被瞬間點亮。這個藝術項目是對人類使用電力的一種紀念和呼應，也是出于我自身對于人與人連結的理解和興趣。這個作品的互動沒有什么操作范本或者程式需要去遵守，人們自然流露的真情就已經(jīng)足夠動人，特別是意大利人，他們喜歡在公共場合熱情親吻，整個過程都充滿著幸福歡樂。2013年到2015年我們和上海新天地共同呈現(xiàn)了“吻之樹”。

整體反響如何？

反響很熱烈，形形色色的人都會來到吻之樹下親吻彼此：少年、同性伴侶、老友們都會相互親吻臉頰并彼此相擁。

你與新天地是怎么結緣的？在中國創(chuàng)作作品有什么感想嗎？

很久以前我就開始在中國尋找一些機會了，之后漸漸開始在中國制作生產(chǎn)一些作品，造訪深圳、為北京設計周創(chuàng)作雕塑，和不同的當?shù)厝私⒑献髀?lián)系等等。在中國，大家對于創(chuàng)意和創(chuàng)新的渴求讓人訝異。從某種程度上說，中國和歐洲的節(jié)奏非常不一樣—中國的發(fā)展和變化速度令人驚嘆。可以肯定的是中國各行各業(yè)的人都在不斷尋求創(chuàng)新，不論這種創(chuàng)新是應用在建筑、雕塑、商業(yè)綜合體，或者音樂、時尚等不同領域。對我來說特別有趣的一件事就是在路上閑逛，總會遇見那些眼里閃爍著想法和充滿干勁兒的人。