眼•神Gaze of the Gods

神明之眼所見，究竟為何？人在徬徨得以安放的愉悅中，是否又逾越了什麼？當你凝視深淵，深淵也在凝視你。從哪裡來？往哪裡去？人神對望之際，龜將凝眸，想眾生亦應如是。

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龜之劇場深耕宜蘭十五年，繼 2021《風景中的變奏》之後，2023 年將推出全新作品－《眼．神》。《眼．神》的創作以現代舞為主軸，深度結合具宜蘭特色的北管音樂、歌仔戲曲、說書元素以及神像雕刻藝術，舞者將在人、偶、神之間穿梭跨界，融匯古典底蘊於當代觀點，淬煉翻舞出前所未見的生命層次。

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以舞者不同的肢體樣態呈現為主軸，融合神偶雕像視覺藝術與笙、嗩吶、鋼琴、大提琴 、木琴、電子音樂、木材雕刻、戲曲說書等聲音設計，展現《眼．神》五幕之戲劇性：

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" Gaze of the Gods" is a new work from Gui Zhi Theater that blends contemporary dance and traditional Taiwanese opera to transcend the boundary between human beings and deity puppets.

Through contemporary dance, the poetry of brilliant colors and shapes, and accompanied by the melody and rhythm of traditional Taiwanese opera, we hope to give the dormant deities a new spark of life and awaken the long-slumbering camphor tree.

In this way, we use the heart to reestablish the relationships between humankind and the gods, humankind and nature, and humankind and all living things.

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一、開斧 The opening axe

種子冒出枝枒、綻葉，從新生至寥落，周而復始。樹木們在千年洪荒中緩慢生長，受星辰照灼、風雪摧刣、驟雨洗潤，紋理豐富於光陰伏流中，其靈性也隨日月推移旦夕俱增。
伐木丁丁，鳥鳴嚶嚶。洪荒中，當第一板斧鑿聲穿破林間，生命一時起了變化。太初有字，而大化無語，成材與否，孰應成偶？

Before becoming a deity puppet, a tree that has grown for many years must sacrifice its life to the blow of a heavy axe. The tree must be split open at an auspicious time, and from nothingness a new spirit is born.

 

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二、文公尺 Ruler of the gods

柴木離根，落地無聲。紅黑交錯間，一尺四寸一分，刻盡生、老、病、死、苦。文公尺度量世間吉凶禍福，揭示的卻是人心深處追求「財、藝、官、本」之無窮慾望。
在執念追索的過程中，易使純粹初心潛移轉向曲折繁複，人為一己之慾妄造神尊，欲窺探天機以趨吉避凶，不料有時本末倒置，往往造業如尺身鋒銳，不斷跟隨糾纏，終身陷貪嗔癡困境，難以擺脫而不自知。

Craftsmen who carve the wooden deities use a special measuring tape (sometimes called a feng shui ruler) which is based on the five aspects of birth, old age, sickness, death and suffering. The ruler is divided into eight sections, each with an auspicious or inauspicious meaning. As the wood is shaped into a deity, it loses its original soul because of the greed and delusion of humans – whose final action is to seek to validation of their own beliefs using the feng shui ruler.

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三、擲杯 Casting divination blocks

生命的誕生是一種機率，人生也充滿著各種機遇。再有智慧的人，都會遇到生命中難以抉擇的關鍵時刻。祖先流傳下一個簡單卻實用的方法協助我們解決難題。
透過不同的肢體姿態、音樂旋律與節奏，展現各種情緒和人生片刻。人與神之間如何溝通？命運的鑰匙由誰掌握？聖筊、笑筊、蓋筊、立筊，擲杯會告訴你，生命的面相本不限於一種。

In the traditional era of dualistic beliefs, the divination blocks offered believers a wider range of responses for consideration. (The divination blocks are shaped like a crescent moon with one side rounded and the other side flat. The divination is performed by tossing the two blocks into the air and observing how they land – two rounded sides up: two flat sides up; left rounded side up, right rounded side down; or left flat side up, right flat side down.) The greater number of answers available for each question asked, results in a diversity of possible outcomes.

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四、尪仔 The deity

當樹木從具有生命的植物，經歷砍伐、雕刻，成為無生命的木偶；當木偶透過開光儀式，刀鑿冷硬的肌理再度活化，便有了表情，被喜迎回家裡、宮裡或廟裡，成為新生的神明。
鮮為人知的是，當風光不再、香火殆盡時，神明棲身的神像，有時也會遭到被退回、轉手、近乎拋棄的命運，種種悲涼尷尬的境遇，只因變心的信眾不知該如何處理，致使神像走了神，徒具偶形，丟失了「生命」，被解構回「無生命」的狀態。

The newly carved deity has a body but no spirit - until the incantation is spoken and the puppet is infused with divine power. The newborn deity moves and explores its surroundings under the control of humans, as if they have switched roles. This interdependence and exchange of positions reminds us of the dancers continuously challenging  their bodies to discover new movement.

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五、眼•神 Gaze of the Gods

人與神，各自視線中所見到的世界，及其遭逢的命運究竟有何差別？全然不同，抑或殊途同歸？信眾的眼神，緊盯著，施儀者的眼神，開啟了，神像光亮的眼神，以及，靜觀著這一切的「我」的眼神……最終，是誰偷窺了誰的夢境？
神明之眼所見，究竟為何？而人在徬徨得以安放的愉悅中，是否又逾越了什麼？當你凝視深淵，深淵也在凝視你。從哪裡來？往哪裡去？人神對望之際，龜將凝眸，想眾生亦應如是。

Gods and Buddhas offer hope to humankind with a calm, dispassionate gaze. But if people fall away from their beliefs, then the god’s situation is as tenuous as a mud bodhisattva crossing the river. Will it survive the crossing, or will it dissolve into nothingness? The interdependent relationship between people and the gods is like a mirror on humanity that reflects the self-centered desires of modern society. In the end, we are left to ask: Can a glance from the eyes of the gods penetrate human nature? Are their supernatural powers strong enough to reach the heavens?