從史坦布拉克基(Stan Brakhage)的《蛾影》(Mothlight)召喚鬼魂,男孩從被遺棄的舊片屍體轉世,轉世(男孩),彼此凝視。2003年3月陸續收到美國實驗電影導演友人們的email告知實驗電影大師史坦布拉克基逝世的消息。一直無法忘記電影啟蒙的年代,觀看他將花瓣及葉片黏在透明導片上所製作的一部無攝影機電影《蛾影》,花瓣及葉片在電影的時間裏創造出蝶蛾紛飛的奇妙觀影經驗。2003年6月待在紐約上州的鄉間校園,開始把周遭隨身可得的花朵粘貼在電影工作室中被人遺棄的舊片膠卷上。舊片上是一位不知名的男孩,男孩的影子,男孩進出的動作,以及男孩的凝視。然後花朵如鬼魅般喚起男孩轉世,自然有機的花朵與男孩的幻象層層交疊結合,並穿透到不同的電影空間(膠卷表層的、花葉立體的、正負影像的)。《(男孩)轉世》分成負像與正像兩部分,一體兩面並置呈現,回應實驗電影史,同時是一部向實驗電影大史坦布拉克基致敬的電影。
“Incarnation (Boy)” evokes the ghosts from Stan Brakhage’s Mothlight. Boy images incarnate from found-footage film corpse. Boys and incarnation (boys) gaze at each other. March 2003, I received emails from fellow filmmaker friends, telling me that the experimental filmmaker Stan Brakhage just passed away. Brakhage, I can’t forget about him. I can’t forget about those youthful years when I started to view his films; I was so stunned and enlightened. His “Mothlight” is the one made without a camera, but with petals and leaves glued on clear leader, made by Brakhage’s own hands. Along his hands with petals and leaves through cinematic lights, the film creates beautiful and magic illusion. June 2003, I stayed upstate in New York. I plucked petals on campus and glued them on the deserted found-footages that were collected from the trash cans in the editing room. On the found-footages there was an unknown boy, and his shadow, his in/out movements and his eyes stare. The plucked flowers then ghostly awoke the boy’s soul into a whole new incarnation. Natural and organic plant mingled with the illusion of the boy, passing through different cinematic space (surfaces of film strips, three-dimensional plants, negative and positive images, illusionary space of film). “Incarnation (Boy)” is optically printed and reprinted into negative and positive images. Two images, negative and positive will be double projected together. This form echoes the history of experimental filmmaking, and at the same time, pays the master Stan Brakhage homage.