廖碧兰油画：我成长的故事 Dragon’s Daughter - 2

2.    My journey, 72 x 83 inches, oil on canvas, 2013 (book: page 16-17)
There are six figures (self-portraits) in My Journey. The one in the foreground is of me as I am painting my story at my studio in Paducah, Kentucky, with my memories around me. The one on the ground expresses the hardships and humiliations I endured. The one kneeling on the right side expresses my feelings of hope. The one on the left, flying into the sky and looking up for hope, represents my desire to escape to America. The small figure in the back of a door on the left represents my exit to a new life. The small figure on the far right represents me coming home to Changsha from the factory in Jiangxi where I lived at the temple among the graves. 
 
I was sixteen when I began to work in a church that had been turned into a factory. The broken and never-ending welding lines surrounding me represent bondage to the work. These lines also lead into the light as I seek my life in the brightness. The hook on the left represents my ill-fated marriage from which there was no release. The many posters in the painting represent political slogans at that time. These experiences had a very negative impact on me, but they drove me to yearn for a better life. I resurrected these memories in my attempt to capture more than just an account of the events. I also wanted to capture a sense of the intense emotional and personal impact these events had.

2. 我的旅程，72 x 83 英寸，油畫，2013 年（書：第 16-17 頁）
《我的旅程》中有六個人物（自畫像）。 前景中的我正在肯塔基州帕迪尤卡的工作室裡描繪我的故事，周圍都是我的回憶。 地上的那張表達了我所經歷的艱辛和屈辱。 跪在右邊的人表達了我的希望之情。 左邊那隻飛向天空，仰望希望，代表了我逃往美國的願望。 左邊門後的小人物代表我走向新生活。 最右邊的小人物代表我從江西的工廠回到長沙的家，我住在墳墓裡的寺廟。
 
當我十六歲的時候，我開始在一座被改造成工廠的教堂工作。 我周圍斷斷續續的焊接代表著對工作的束縛。 當我在光明中尋找我的生命時，這些線條也通往光明。 左邊的鉤子代表我命運多舛的婚姻，沒有解脫。 畫中的許多海報代表了當時的政治口號。 這些經歷為我帶來了非常負面的影響，但卻促使我嚮往更好的生活。 我復活了這些記憶，試圖捕捉到不只是對這些事件的描述。 我也想捕捉這些事件所產生的強烈情感和個人影響。