Ship Indicator Panel
(OBJECT: Metal enamel panel. 223mm diameter, 80s)
In May 1981, the day after our wedding, we went to Beijing. Part of the reason was to assist a client participating in a computer product exhibition there, and part of it was a honeymoon trip. Later, we went on to Shanghai.
In Shanghai, we visited the Shanghai Museum, which left a lasting impression. Inside the museum, the lights would automatically turn on wherever you went and switch off as you moved away. Opposite the museum, there was an enamel factory. Its gate was ajar, and on one side of the factory yard, a pile of discarded enamel products lay scattered on the ground. Among them were numerous items used as door signs, indicator plates, and other signage.
To a designer, these discarded objects were no less fascinating than the exhibits in the museum. We asked the factory workers if these items were for sale. They shook their heads and told us to help ourselves—they were merely abandoned scraps. We picked out a small pile but had to curb our desire for more, as these were metal objects and quite heavy.
One of the items was a circular ship indicator plate. I’ve used it as a photographic subject several times. Once, I photographed its black reverse side for a cover of DISLOCATION (女那禾多). Another time, it appeared in one of the most recognized images from my Forty Poems series, Movement Control Panel And The Other Arguments, 1995. This photograph is now part of the collection at M+ Museum.
輪船標示版
1981年5月，我們婚後翌日便去了北京，一方面是打點一個客戶在京參加的電腦產品展覽。一方面也算是蜜月之旅。之後我們又去了上海。我們去了上海博物館，這個館令人最難忘，館內你每到一處，燈光會自動開啟，你行開後它又會自動關掉。博物館對面有一個做搪瓷的工厰，閘門撇開，厰一邊的地上堆了不少搪瓷製品的次件。林林總總，有不少是用作門牌，標板等指示用途。對於一個設計人來說，這些都不亞於剛才在館內看到的收藏物。我們問厰內的工作人員，此等物件是否可以出售。他們搖頭，叫我們盡管拿去便是。棄置物也。我們檢了一堆，但也不能有貪念，此乃金屬物，不輕也。這個圓形的，是使用在輪船上的標示板。我用來當作被攝物好幾回。好像有一次用它黑色的背面拍照予女那禾多使用。另一次，最為人知的是「Forty Poems」系列𥚃其中一張照片「Movement Control Panel And The Other Arguments, 1995」, 照片現為M+美術館所藏。