文/ 呂勝中

【壹】

我看滕菲的首飾，靜默無聲的一枚枚不同質地的“作品”潛入心底，生出層層疊疊的驚奇。

在我的經驗中：首飾，細緻活脫的手藝，沉厚灰蒙的包漿，精光內斂的質地……它總是女子靜而生動的裝點、雍容華貴的標誌。

滕菲説：中國首飾藝術的發展則一直停頓在歷史與傳統的影子裏，尤其自明清以後，中國的首飾藝術沒有得到它應有的發展和關注。在相關史料的記載中，我們獲得的往往都是古代首飾的樣式、佩帶功能及其相關的工藝等內容，卻看不到現代人對其承傳與拓展的篇幅，至於對未來首飾藝術的研究與思考更是了無蹤跡。

於是，滕菲就在這個斷裂的荒涼現場艱難上路了。

“飛花摘葉 皆可送人”，這是她首先將首飾作為人類情感物化形式所提出的創作理念。花草無情人有情，醉翁之意不在酒，我相信，這曾經是生命最本原的情感表達方式，而首飾，真像造型藝術中的散文詩，以短章的形式，用輕靈而富於內涵的意象、簡煉有韻律並且富於節奏的語言，自由抒發內心世界的文體，敘述表述者情感的意象。

意像是什麼？意象就是浸透主觀情感的物象，我們要把抽象的情感形象化，即物化的過程，只能用意象創造出意境。當“飛花摘葉”滲透進作者主觀情感的意象，就已經不再是原來“順手可得”的花花草草，因為那上面有了一份真心。

於是，滕菲的兩個系列《對話與獨白》、《雨季》基於這樣的“採集”——那些並不嬌嬈爭俏卻倔強著的花瓣、蓓蕾，那些容易被人忽略的枝丫以及上面努出的苞芽，那些快要敗落仍固執生機的綠葉以及滴落在上面瞬間即逝的水珠……它們自己在述説，滕菲自己在述説，滕菲和它們在述説——一個抒發情感的詩的意象在述説中釀造成為一個圓滿的結果，套在他或她的指上或項間。

他或她聽見了嗎？

【貳】

首飾，自古以來是人珍愛的物件，或為標記群體意識的圖騰，或為避除邪惡侵襲的護符，或為彰顯人格層次的象徵，或為寄託情感火花的存儲……久而久之，它與生命相伴並難以割捨。在這裡，物我、天人、情景且然無間，合為一體，了無余痕。

人類對物的積蓄與眷戀總是不可抑制，但達人會説：衣食之外，余為身外之物。亂世間，逃離走竄，一個包裹一隻盒子就是一個家當，而在這經過縝密篩選的輕便“家當”中，細軟者，精細而易於攜帶的貴重之物也。我想，這絕不僅僅是出於它們質料的貴重，因為捨棄這份浸染著生命品質的細軟就等於捨棄了生命的全部。

滕菲也許早已從首飾的歷史中讀出了這一點，但她卻不是接著歷史的“話茬兒”做一個簡單的註釋，她開始直接從生命的旅途中尋覓值得珍惜的痕跡。她的《身體的寓言》、《心悸》、《日記》、《謎》將吸氧的橡皮管、心電圖記錄紙、磁共振腦電圖以及脫落的頭髮作為素材，這些曾連接身心、維繫生命的旅途遺物讓滕菲珍愛並打造成為可佩戴在身的“細軟”——讓人們愛不釋手的可以是金、是銀、是玉、是珍珠、是鑽石……但它必須與生命息息相關。

佩戴著這些與自己生命息息相關的物件，即使遇到人生旅途中的無常離亂，滕菲自會不動聲色，仿佛懷揣著一顆經世不慌的定心丸。

【參】

精神之中總有一部分是堅強，心靈之中總有一部分是細軟。

滕菲是一個生於江南的女子，中國傳統女性陰柔為美的準則從小渲染著她的性情，就如首飾那樣釀造著心靈的細軟。

細軟的底線在哪？在更多的時候，我們承載的內容總要有個限度，悲傷也罷，痛苦也罷，在到達極限之後，心靈開始缺氧，呼吸變艱難起來。這時候我們適合閉上眼睛，在冥冥之間找自己，在底線的層面邊緣彳亍，或者叫做徘徊。

生命總要面對極限，人生之中更多的時候在尋找這個極限。

我們往往會將珍貴的東西隱藏完好，比如金銀細軟；我們往往會將柔軟的部分遮蔽嚴密，比如情感細軟。可隱藏並不代表就能萬無一失，因為生命的責任與價值絕不僅僅是個體的自我，自我是天地之間生靈萬物的一個小點兒，就像米芾筆下的點墨或修拉畫布上的色斑。當她愛著生命的時候她也會愛著這個世界，並將自己珍貴的東西奉獻出來。

這奉獻往往伴隨著巨大的痛疼。

滕菲的作品《那個夏天》讓我看到她面對痛疼的泰然自若——身穿紅衣的滕菲平靜的閉上雙眼，仰起頭來，脖頸上一道虛擬的刀痕中滲出濃重的鮮血——看不到激烈的搏鬥和掙扎，生死的較量卻讓每個觀者觸目驚心。

滕菲説，這靈感是來自於他剖腹産生下兒子的經歷。

我説，她已然從母性奉獻的苦痛中超越，她在血痕和痛中體驗到真愛的力量如此光輝燦爛！

世界在她的面前，理想在她的面前，美的歷程在她的面前——在面前，卻遙遠，舉步艱，行進難，但滕菲有了對於自我生命價值的果敢的判斷，就有了追求的信心與勇敢——一個陰柔女子已在血與火雕琢的“細軟”中造就了心靈深處的剛強與穩健，從夏天漫步——秋天——冬天，直至春天，從她的心裏奉獻出一份份真誠的細軟。

A Life Shouted Aloud from “細軟xìruǎn ”

Text: Lv Shengzhong

I.

When I look at Teng Fei’s jewelry, the meticulously textured pieces steal silently into the bottom of my heart and inspire wonder.

Jewelry--the delicate craftwork, the exquisite textures--has always been a quiet but vibrant feminine adornment, a symbol of elegance and luxury.

Teng Fei says that the development of China’s jewelry craft has halted under the shadow of history and tradition. In the years especially since the end of the Qing Dynasty, Chinese jewelry has not gotten the attention or promotion it deserves. Historical records give us jewelry in the classical style, with its function of adornment as well as artistry, but in China today there is no step forward for the future of Chinese jewelry.

It is upon this fractured and desolate path that Teng Fei started her creative journey.

“Flowers and leaves bear one’s emotions as gifts to others”— this concept of how jewelry can become an objectification of people’s emotions is what she bases her creation upon. Flowers in themselves are devoid of emotion, but human emotion is conferred through the offering of flowers, as jewelry confers meaning through its beauty. Jewelry is a poem of figurative art, its agile and expressive imagery, cadence and rhythmic language an essay that exposes the inner world of the narrator’s emotional imagery.

What is “imagery”? It is an object totally soaked in our subjective impression; to give form to this abstract impression, we use imagery to create artistry. As the “gifts of emotions” are permeated by the artist’s emotional imagery, they will no longer be simple, emotionless flowers and leaves, because they have been imbued with true emotion.

We can see this imagery in two of Teng Fei’s series, Dialogue and Monologue ( 2004) and Rainy Season.(2005) Those plain yet challenging petals and buds; those easily overlooked twigs with those sprouts pushing upwards; those quickly dying green leaves that still long for life; those droplets of water that drip down and pass away…they are whispering, Teng Fei is explaining, they are all narrating together… a poem made of emotional images becomes a tangible piece of finery, worn upon a finger or around a neck.

Can you hear it?

II.

Jewelry has always been a cherished object or a totem to unite a community, a talisman to protect from evil or a symbol to distinguish layers of society, or a remembrance of the sparks of emotion… throughout time, jewelry has accompanied life, never to be wrought apart. Here, objects and self, celestial beings, come together as one.

A longing for objects has always insuppressible, but wise men would say: aside from clothing and food, all else is just worldly possessions. Fleeing from a world torn apart by chaos, the objects one is most likely to carry on their person are valuables. This is not only because the materials are precious--it is because giving up this reminder of the preciousness of life is like giving up life itself.

Perhaps Teng Fei has already noted these characteristics of jewelry, but she is not simply following a historical account. She delves directly into life’s journey looking for things worth cherishing. Her Allegory of the Body, Palpitation, Diaries of 40, and A Riddle turn artifical tubes, electrocardiograms, X-rays and hair into raw materials; these remnants of life that were once attached to the body, holding us together, are turned into “valuables” that can be worn as accessories. Cherished items might be gold, silver, jade, pearls, diamonds… but they must be closely bound with our lives.

Wearing these pieces of life, Teng Fei remains calm and collected, even while encountering obstacles along the road that will change her journey.

III.

In the spirit there resides a pocket of perseverance, and in the mind there resides a sense of life value.

Teng Fei was born in southern China, and a traditional Chinese feminine aesthetic has always influenced her nature, just like jewelry brews a spiritual fineness.

Where is the bottom line of life value? Whether it is sadness or pain, our emotions bear limited endurance, and once we’ve reached the line, our soult begins to gasp for air. In this moment we can only shut our eyes, locate ourselves in the blackness, and pace back and forth on the fringe of the line.

Life will always come face to face with limits, and we spend most of our lives looking for this place.

Silver and gold finery are hidden away to keep them intact; our delicate emotions are bundled up to protect their values. But these valuable things seep out despite our best efforts, because a mere individual cannot contain the immensity of life. The self is a tiny point in all the life between heaven and earth, like a drop of ink of Mi Fu, the ancient Chinese calligrapher, or a colored stain of Georges Seurat. When she embraces the fullness of life, she can offer up her valuables to the world.

This offering is tied to a deep hurt.

Teng Fei’s work That Summer (2007)shows her calm in the face of pain—eyes closed, head raised, on her neck a made-up thick line of fresh blood within trace of a knife—an intense hidden struggle, the fight between life and death.

Teng Fei says the inspiration for this piece is her memory of delivering her son by c-section.

I think that she has already moved past the suffering of a mother’s dedication, and in the blood and pain she has experienced the power of true love!

With the world in front of her, ideals in front of her, beauty in front of her—in front of her but also far, the steps difficult, progress hard--Teng Fei has faith in the value of self, seeks confidence and courage. An introverted woman who has created a steady and unyielding spirit in the “fineness” sculpted from blood and fire, she marches from summer—fall—winter--all the way to spring, offering us from her depths her special “細軟xìruǎn” --- valuables in jewelry and soul. .