MATA─影像之初
MATA-the island's gaze
蘇格蘭攝影師約翰．湯姆生John Thomson 於1871年的攝福爾摩沙之行，所拍攝的一系列濕版照片之中，有一張原住民獵人照片。畫面中停格的老、少獵人，經歷一百四十幾年仍栩栩如生，湯姆生驚訝於福爾摩沙的人物與風景之美，影像甚至再製版畫流傳。但是，他要身手矯健的原住民獵人在相機之前靜止不動，才能成功獵取他們的影像。
今天西拉雅萬長老自彈自唱、琴弦撩撥、山林搖動，他們的祖先勇士腳步也在疾躍著。他化身成一個半世紀前面對的老獵人，在電影，也在照片中。如今，長老扮起了獵人，現實中卻已找不到獵場。當初的影像歷經百來年，彷彿靜止不變，但，時間卻淘空了，人、物不再，族群甚至失去了母語，以及自己的名。
導演從照片一角蹲著的男孩與狗，誕生了一雙角色，從男孩與狗的好奇眼光，看著部落裡身手矯健的獵者，遭遇外來的「影像獵人」，見證一場新舊世界的對決。在那很久之後，獵人消失，影像日漸當道。湯姆生當年帶來一部雙眼相機，一方面做立體幻景，另一方面也拿來做「手動連拍」模式（一次遮一眼，曝光秒數不等）做一次兩張的試拍、篩選。
作為一個電影導演，拿著上百年的雙眼相機，揣想在那些MATA（眼睛）們當時在看見了什麼。那之後，影像是怎麼形塑了我們以及福爾摩沙，而在那之前，影像又是什麼？在仍難以名之的我、我們的MATA裡，是否還有答案?
In the series of wet plate photographs by Scottish photographer John Thomson in his trip to Formosa in 1871, there is an aboriginal hunter photo.
Both the elder and young hunters in the photo still look vivid after more than 140 years. Thomson was surprised at figures and landscape of Formosa and even made his photographs into prints. Yet he needed the hunters to stay still in front of the camera so he could capture their images successfully.
Nowadays we see the Siraya tribal Elder Wan singing and playing instruments accompanied by his brave ancestors’ leaping in the forests. He turns into an ancestral hunter hundred years ago in both film and photo; however the hunting ground no longer exists in reality. Those images hundred years ago still seemed unchanged, yet time does change everything. People and places are gone; the tribe lost their mother tongue and even their names.
The director created a pair of characters out of a photo with a boy and a dog squatted at the corner, through their curious stare at the vigorous tribal hunters and their encounter with the “image hunter”, witnessing a duel of old and new world. After a long time, hunters are gone and images in power. The twin-lens reflex camera Thomson carried was used as Stereo Vision and also “manual burst” mode (cover one len at a time for seconds for exposure) to make two-photo test shots and selection.
As a film director, carrying a hundred-year-old twin-lens reflex camera, I imagine what those “mata (eyes)” had seen at that time? How does images form us and Formosa into after that and what exactly are images before that? Is there still an answer in my, our indescribable mata?
