“Find a stone, place it somewhere, anywhere; make it your personal ‘One Square Inch of Silence’.”
— Gordon Hempton

When The Library by soundpocket’s feature story “Recording as a way to understand ecology; listening to silence as a practice of conservation” was first released, we simultaneously launched the campaign “A piece of stone”. We invited people to pick up a stone, place it anywhere, and spare themselves five minutes to listen to silence. We also encourage everyone to record their thoughts and feelings during  and after listening, in any such form as photography, texts, recordings, drawings, etc.

「拾起一塊石頭，把它放在某處，或任何一處，把它當作你自己的一平方吋的寂靜。」 — 戈登‧漢普頓

在聲音圖書館最新專題故事 「從錄音認識生態環境，以寧靜作為保育起點」推出之時，我們發起了「一塊石頭」運動，邀請大家拾起一塊石頭，把它放在某處，用不少於五分鐘的時間，聆聽寂靜；並可以任何方式，如攝影、文字、錄音、繪畫等，記錄聆聽時或聆聽後的所思､所想､所感。

—

Author 作者：Vik Lai
Date 日期：20/3/2015

/ /

Author 作者：Mike Cooper
Date 日期：22/3/2015

The video is shot on the island Pulau Ubin which is set between Singapore and Malaysia.

It is a big piece of rock – a stone.

Previously Pulau Ubin was populated and had several lives – first as a plantation island and then as a quarry. Many of the older buildings in Singapore were built with stone from these quarries. Now Pulau Ubin is one of Singapore’s last remaining ‘Country Side’ areas and is in constant danger of being acquired; de-populated completely, and developed, as Singapore needs LAND and TERRITORY. There are only about 50 families left living on the island now and they are nearly all older generation.

I spent one month as an artist in residence on Pulau Ubin as guest of The Artists Village, who continue to place artists there and resist as much as possible the acquisition of the island by developers.

My month on Pulua Ubin was spent contemplating this ‘Piece Of Stone’ from many angles and times of the day.  I made several videos about the island and I liked being on the island, sat outside at night, to being underwater, in an alien environment. The daytime was similar but different – another environment and one which my eyes were more used to, We humans don’t see well at night. We are very vulnerable at night. In the daytime we are more confident and the night animals, insects and birds retreat from us.

This video is my daytime contemplation of ‘the stone’ Pulau Ubin and a meditation on nature. Local visitors to the island (from ‘mainland’ Singapore) often come for weekends or public holidays to Ubin. They mostly cycle around and very few spend more than one day there.

The Soundtrack is a live recording of a concert I gave at the Esplanade Arts Centre in Singapore using ambient field recordings from Pulau Ubin.

The video is part of a series of short works which together are titled ‘Island Gardens’. They were shot in Pulau Ubin, Lamma Island, Sri Lanka, Guadaloupe, Marie Galante, Greece, Dominica, East Timor, and Bali.

I have linked the islands by stories, history, mythology, music, fact and fiction. There are 20 videos in the series – more details here –
http://www.cooparia.com/island-an-audio-visual-installation/

這段影片是在新加坡和馬來西亞之間的烏敏島錄影的。

烏敏島，就是一塊大石頭。

以前的烏敏島住了很多人，它前身是一個種植場，後來又成了採石場；新加坡的很多舊建築就是用那些石頭興建的。現在的烏敏島可説是新加坡最後的「郊野」，並承受著隨時給收回的威脅：先是人們會被迫遷，土地繼而被發展，只因新加坡需要土地和領土。現在居住在島上的，大概只剩下五十個家庭，他們大多都已經是老一代的了。

我在「藝術家村」的邀請下，在烏敏島當了一個月的駐場藝術家；「藝術家村」持續的邀請不同的藝術家駐場，並希望以此對抗發展商對烏敏島的侵佔。

在烏敏島的一個月，我對這一塊「石頭」- 從不同的角度、時間陷入了沉思。我還製作了幾段關於這個島嶼的影片 – 我很喜歡在這島上 – 這陌生的環境，我可以在夜裏坐在外面；或到水裏去 。相比之下，日間的烏敏島既熟悉又不同 ，那是我眼睛能習慣的另一個環境，因爲我們人類都不能在夜裏看得很清楚。我們在夜裏是多麽的脆弱；在日間卻顯得較自信，一些晚間動物 – 昆蟲、鳥兒都藏起來了。

這段影片是關於烏敏島這石頭，我對於大自然的日間冥想。當地的旅客（新加坡本土）通常都在週末或公衆假期到烏敏島；他們大多會騎單車四周逛逛，然而，卻很少會留在這裏超過一天。

影片的配樂是我在新加坡濱海藝術中心舉行的音樂會，現場所錄製的聲音，而那次音樂會正正用了我在烏敏島周遭的田野錄音。

這段影片是我的一系列簡短作品 – 「島上花園」，其中的一部分。「島上花園」在不同的地方錄影，包括烏敏島、南丫島、斯里蘭卡、瓜德羅普、瑪麗-加朗特島、希臘、多米尼克、東帝汶、峇里島。

我用故事、歷史、神話、音樂、事實和虛構的事，把島嶼連結起來。這一系列合共有20段影片，請按下以看更多：
http://www.cooparia.com/island-an-audio-visual-installation/

/ /

Author 作者：Suk
Date 日期：23/3/2015

Looking at the stone in silence… I see lives in the stone, many lives in one stone. The lives are solid, long lasting and strong.
Then I thought, I should not be thinking as I want silence in my mind … then I closed my eyes, silenced for a while…the image of the stone came to mind.
I started to realize, visuals bring in chatters to the mind. Even I closed my eyes, the image still lives in the mind, BUT…… that’s because, I have seen the stone! Our senses trigger mind activities…
Then I asked myself: What is Silence? My answer came to me straight away.
Silence is not about outside noises, it is about how still within you can be.
I now have a new proverb ( smiling ) :
‘Silence is everywhere as long as you do not hear the noise.’

~ Suk, 23 Mar 2015

靜靜的看著石頭，我在石頭看見了生命 – 有很多生命在石塊裏。那些生命是實在的、長久的、强壯的。
然後我想，我不是要靜下來嗎？怎麽我在想這些？我閉上雙眼，安靜下來，石頭的影像卻在我腦中揮之不去。
我開始意識到，視覺上的記憶在我腦海中帶來了無止境的對話。即使我閉上雙眼，那影像依然會停留在腦海；但是，這是因爲，我曾經見過這塊石頭吧！我們的感官激發了腦部的跳動。
我問自己，「甚麽是寂靜？」
我立刻意識到答案。
寂靜不是指要遠離噪音，它是指你在當中可以有多心忘容寂。
我現在有新的格言了（笑）：
「當你聽不到噪音的時候，到處便也是寂靜。」

Suk, 2015年3月23號

/ /

Author 作者：NL KY
Date 日期：26/3/2015

在走岀這個門的一刻，
我徐徐的把你拾起，從幽幽的山頭中帶走。
爲的是你證明我如何在這片山頭學會誠實，
在往後來臨的日子，
提醒我在山頭上學會了甚麽，
讓我不致迷失。

2014-07-14 NLKY
__________________________________

這是一塊我在去年畢業前，從美麗的山頭上帶回家的石頭。
它一直在我的工作間 一 提醒我真心誠實。
它是我的這兩年的印證。

Walking out of the door,
I pick you up slowly – and take you away from the looming hill.
Only because you have proved how I have learnt to be honest at this hilltop,
in all the days to come,
to remind me of what I have learnt at that hilltop,
so as not to get lost.

2014-07-14 NLKY
__________________________________

This is a piece of stone that I brought home from the beautiful hilltop before last year’s graduation.
It has always been in my work studio – it reminds me of being genuine and truthful.
It has been my cornerstone in these two years.

/ /

Author 作者：俞若玫
Date 日期：30/3/2015

Put a rock at the skirt of the sea, I read what is left what is kept and hear the sound of my memory.
放一塊石頭在海的邊緣，我意識到甚麽該放下、甚麽該留起，我聽見了往事的回音。

/ /

Author 作者：Solomon Yu
Date 日期 / Location 地點：30/3/2015 / 香港墳場

一塊石頭，如何默默無聲的訴說這個地方的過去與未來？今天在這個城市裡，如何尋找一塊石頭，聆聽寧靜的它所背負的歎息與期許，又再放下，再尋找？

A piece of stone, how can it tell the past and future of the place in silence? In the city nowadays, how can I find a piece of stone, and listen to the sighing and hope that the silent stone carries; then put it down and search again?