“I have the right not to justify my existence in this world… I have the right to identify myself differently in different situations…I have the right to change my identity over my lifetime–and more than once.”
- Maria P.P. Root (1993), Bill of Rights for People of Mixed Heritage
「很難說你是一個法國人」，我父親如此說道，那個讓我擁有法國身分的父親。他補充：「畢竟你所接觸的文化、生活方式、說的語言，早已經離那裡太遠了。」
「遊鳥」是一件由自身作為台法混血兒的成長經驗出發，旨在討論身分與歸屬的推測作品。
“It's hard to say you're French.”, said my father, the one who made me French. He added, “All the culture and lifestyle you have, and the language you use are so different from what a French has. That’s why.”
“Walking Birds: Boundary of Identity” is a speculative design project about identity, nationality, and ascription, inspired by my own experience of being mixed-race (French and Taiwanese).
「遊鳥」啟發自挪威人類社會學家 Fredrick Barth 於其著作《族群與邊界》中所提到的，討論族群分類應當從互動下手，因為人們是在與彼此的互動過程中才會意識到彼此的行為模式、價值觀等有所差異，進而明白彼此是來自不同的族群體系。互動產生差異，差異形成邊界，我們由此與他人區隔，群體於是存在。
The project is based on the Norwegian anthropologist Fredrick Barth's work “Ethnic Groups and Boundaries: The Social Organization of Culture Difference”, which states that the discussion of the classification of the ethnic group should begin with interaction because it is in the process of interaction with each other that people become aware of the differences in their behaviors and values; thus understand that they come from different ethnic groups. Interaction creates differences, and differences form boundaries from which we can differentiate ourselves from others.
In this project, action is also the focus of discussion. I believe that identity is revealed through action.
Le départ
當現有的國家分類不再能精確定義我們是誰時，我們能如何面對與處理？與其使用「多元」這樣單一的標籤將所有人歸納於同一體系中，或許我們更該做的是創造更多的標籤與分類，讓所有人能找到自己合適的歸處。¹ 現有的國家身分相對應而來的社會期待與行動規範，對大部分有多重身分的人來說是很難去迎合或不願意去回應的。於是當作為人的行動不再能幫助我們認識自己、找到同伴，何不嘗試從新的互動模式中尋找？人們便決定學習動物與同伴互動的方式，藉此創造新的行動，進而形成新的邊界與群體。
於是遊鳥這個裝置誕生，以幫助我們成為候鳥。
Therefore, the device “Walking Bird” is invented to help us become migratory birds.
La métamorphose
遊鳥是一件完全開源的裝置²，包括其元件與程式都是完全公開，透過這樣的特質來傳遞身分本來就是自由的，是自己能夠選擇而不受他人影響，去對比國籍經常是先天或難以取得的。
在裝置上輸入你個人所想去往的地點，開啟之後戴上，便能跟隨前方的指針移動進行遷徙，並在外形上也變得如同鳥一般。藉由穿戴與移動的行為，人們便在很大程度上與社會中的多數人有所不同，於是帶著這樣的差異於群體中尋找同伴³。透過裝置的外貌與特殊的行動規則，我們得以找到有著相似信念的人，進而組成群體。⁴
Walking Bird is a completely open-source device², its components and programs are completely open, through such a feature to convey that identity should be free, and be able to choose without the influence of others, as opposed to current nationalities which are often innate or difficult to obtain.
Enter the place you want to go on the device, turn it on and put it on, then you can follow the pointer in front of you to migrate and become like a bird, both in action and appearance. By the act of wearing and moving, people become largely different from others in the society, with such differences they can try to find companions in the group.³ Through the appearance of the device and special rules of movement, we can find people with similar beliefs, thus forming groups.⁴
La migration et la rencontre
當兩隻遊鳥相遇時，裝置會在相遇的點上做計算，計算從交會點至各自終點的向量，並取兩者的和向量作為新的前進方向與計算新終點，由此兩人得以共同前進。透過向量和的概念，亦想討論個人與群體之關係。個人既帶著一部分特質貢獻成為團體，卻也必須為了整體和諧而消磨一部分自我。
再者，當越來越多隻遊鳥相遇，其終點也會不斷改變，透過這樣的設定，也在提醒於模仿候鳥遷徙的行為中，最重要地並非百分百成為候鳥並抵達溫暖的南方生存，人們真正需要的是在過程中與他人相遇，對遷徙的人們而言，過程遠比終點更重要。這也是本作品希望引發討論的另外一點：地點之於人的意義和人對空間的情感。在輸入終點的當下便提問了第一次，該地點對於遷徙者的意義為何，若選擇不輸入任一地點（即零向量）又是什麼意義，以及最終若抵達無法預期之終點，該地方又對於這一群遊鳥有何意義。
再者，當越來越多隻遊鳥相遇，其終點也會不斷改變，透過這樣的設定，也在提醒於模仿候鳥遷徙的行為中，最重要地並非百分百成為候鳥並抵達溫暖的南方生存，人們真正需要的是在過程中與他人相遇，對遷徙的人們而言，過程遠比終點更重要。這也是本作品希望引發討論的另外一點：地點之於人的意義和人對空間的情感。在輸入終點的當下便提問了第一次，該地點對於遷徙者的意義為何，若選擇不輸入任一地點（即零向量）又是什麼意義，以及最終若抵達無法預期之終點，該地方又對於這一群遊鳥有何意義。
When two Walking Birds meet, the device will calculate the vector from the meeting point to their respective endpoints, take the sum vector of both as the new direction and calculate a new endpoint, so that the two can move forward together. Through the concept of vector, we also want to discuss the dynamic equilibrium between individuals and groups. The individual contributes to the group with some of its characteristics but also loses some of its personalities for the overall harmony.
Moreover, as more and more Walking Birds meet, their endpoints will keep changing. Through this setting, we are reminded that in the act of imitating the migratory behavior of migratory birds, the most important thing is not to become a migratory bird and reach the warm south to survive, but what people need is to meet others in the process.
Moreover, as more and more Walking Birds meet, their endpoints will keep changing. Through this setting, we are reminded that in the act of imitating the migratory behavior of migratory birds, the most important thing is not to become a migratory bird and reach the warm south to survive, but what people need is to meet others in the process.
This is another point that this work hopes to raise: the meaning of place for people and their emotions about spaces. At the moment of entering the endpoint, the question is asked for the first time what the place means to the migrant, what does it mean if one chooses not to enter any place (which will be zero vector), and what does the place mean to the group of Walking Birds if they eventually reach an unpredictable endpoint.
La frontière
「遊鳥」本身是一件穿戴裝置，是可以隨時帶上與取下，藉由這樣的特性傳達身分本就是流動與可變。想成為鳥就戴上它並出門移動，若走至半路想放棄了，隨時可以從身上取下並重新成為一個人。自由地於不同身分間切換，自在地跨越不同的身分邊界，就像候鳥能用雙翼飛越國界，我們人類能用雙腳緩慢卻堅定地跨越定義我們的邊界。
"Walking Bird" is a wearable device that can be put on and taken off at any time, and through this feature, the identity is conveyed to be mobile and changeable. If you want to be a bird, just put it on and go out to move, and if you want to give up halfway, you can take it off and become a person again at any time. Freely switching between identities, crossing the boundaries of different identities, just as migratory birds can fly across borders with their wings, we humans can cross the boundaries that define us slowly but surely with our feet.
La destination
透過提問「若候鳥（甚至於任何一種動物）能成為人們所選擇的身分與國籍，那我們要怎麼樣才能成為那樣的身分？」藉此反思作為某一群體（以至於一個人）的意義又是什麼？作品期許提供探討身分的另外一層觀點：不去探討身分本身代表的是什麼，而是思考什麼時候身分顯現，又為何顯現。探討那個讓身分得以多元而流動，我們得以獨特的原因。
在每天所做出的選擇與行動裡，我們會成為自己想要的樣子。
在每天所做出的選擇與行動裡，我們會成為自己想要的樣子。
By asking "if migratory birds (or any animal) can become the identity and nationality we can choose, what does it take for us to become one?"
Then, what does it mean to be a group of people (or even a person)? Through this project hope to offer an alternative perspective on identity: not to define what identity itself represents, but to consider when and why it is practiced. To explore what makes identity diverse and fluid, what makes us unique.
In the choices and actions that we make every day, we become who we want to be.
In the choices and actions that we make every day, we become who we want to be.
Notes
¹ “Nothing can be gained by lumping these various systems under the increasingly vague label of 'plural' society, whereas an investigation of the varieties of structure can shed a great deal of light on social and cultural forms.”, Fredrik Barth (1998)
¹ “Nothing can be gained by lumping these various systems under the increasingly vague label of 'plural' society, whereas an investigation of the varieties of structure can shed a great deal of light on social and cultural forms.”, Fredrik Barth (1998)
² “Ascription is not conditional on the control of any specific assets, but rests on criteria of origin and commitment; whereas performance in the status, the adequate acting out of the roles required to realize the identity, in many systems does require such assets.”, Fredrik Barth (1998)
³ “At some point in their lives, about one-in-five multiracial adults (21%) have dressed or behaved in a certain way in order to influence how others saw their race.”, Kim Parker, Juliana Menasce Horowitz, Rich Morin, and Mark Hugo Lopez (2015)
⁴ “First, we give primary emphasis to the fact that ethnic groups are categories of ascription and identification by the actors themselves, and thus have the characteristic of organizing interaction between people.”, Fredrik Barth (1998)
³ “At some point in their lives, about one-in-five multiracial adults (21%) have dressed or behaved in a certain way in order to influence how others saw their race.”, Kim Parker, Juliana Menasce Horowitz, Rich Morin, and Mark Hugo Lopez (2015)
⁴ “First, we give primary emphasis to the fact that ethnic groups are categories of ascription and identification by the actors themselves, and thus have the characteristic of organizing interaction between people.”, Fredrik Barth (1998)
References
Fredrik Barth (1998), Ethnic Groups and Boundaries: The Social Organization of Culture Difference, Waveland Press.
Kim Parker, Juliana Menasce Horowitz, Rich Morin, and Mark Hugo Lopez (2015), Multiracial in America: Proud, Diverse and Growing in Numbers, https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2015/06/11/multiracial-in-america/
Stephane Corcuff (2004), Feng he ri nuan: Taiwan wai sheng ren yu guo jia ren tong de zhuan bian, Yun chen cong kan.
Fredrik Barth (1998), Ethnic Groups and Boundaries: The Social Organization of Culture Difference, Waveland Press.
Kim Parker, Juliana Menasce Horowitz, Rich Morin, and Mark Hugo Lopez (2015), Multiracial in America: Proud, Diverse and Growing in Numbers, https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2015/06/11/multiracial-in-america/
Stephane Corcuff (2004), Feng he ri nuan: Taiwan wai sheng ren yu guo jia ren tong de zhuan bian, Yun chen cong kan.
Credits
指導教授 Design Advisor 何樵暐 Ho, Chiao-Wei
模型製作 3D Modeling 蘇敬堯 Su, Ching-Yao
技術協助 Technical Support 許宸睿 Hsu, Chen-Jui
攝影助理 Assistant Camera 陳采琳 Chen, Cai-Lin
音樂 Music 孔德明 Robin Caquineau
遊鳥模特 Walking Birds 陳婉瑜 Chen, Wan-Yu / 任季如 Jen, Claire / 邱于軒 Chiu, Yu-Hsuan
模型製作 3D Modeling 蘇敬堯 Su, Ching-Yao
技術協助 Technical Support 許宸睿 Hsu, Chen-Jui
攝影助理 Assistant Camera 陳采琳 Chen, Cai-Lin
音樂 Music 孔德明 Robin Caquineau
遊鳥模特 Walking Birds 陳婉瑜 Chen, Wan-Yu / 任季如 Jen, Claire / 邱于軒 Chiu, Yu-Hsuan
劉育齊 Liou, Yuh-Chyi / 孔愛琳 Aïline Caquineau
特別感謝 Special Thanks to 梁容輝 教授 Professor Rung-Huei Liang
特別感謝 Special Thanks to 梁容輝 教授 Professor Rung-Huei Liang
