to convey the urgency of climate change through my work.

透過我的作品來表達氣候變遷的急迫性。

I've traveled north to the Arctic to capture the unfolding story

我曾往北到北極，掌握極地冰融

of polar melt,

日漸加劇的情形，

and south to the Equator to document the subsequent rising seas.

也往南到赤道，記錄因極地冰融而上升的海洋。

Most recently, I visited the icy coast of Greenland

最近我剛拜訪了格陵蘭冰封的海岸

and the low-lying islands of the Maldives,

還有馬爾地夫那些低漥的島嶼，

connecting two seemingly disparate but equally endangered

將地球上看似無關但同樣瀕危的兩個區域

parts of our planet.

作個連結。

My drawings explore moments of transition, turbulence

我的畫在探究地景變換、躁動還有

and tranquility in the landscape,

寧靜的時刻，

allowing viewers to emotionally connect

（這種畫面）能使觀者在情感上

with a place you might never have the chance to visit.

和一個幾乎沒有機會到訪的地方產生連結。

I choose to convey the beauty as opposed to the devastation.

我選擇呈現大自然的美麗，而不是殘敗，

If you can experience the sublimity of these landscapes,

如果能夠感受到這些地景的美善，

perhaps you'll be inspired to protect and preserve them.

或許你會產生想守護和保存它們的念頭。

Behavioral psychology tells us that we take action

行為心理學指出：情緒比其他任何事物

and make decisions based on our emotions above all else.

更能主導我們的行動和決策，

And studies have shown that art impacts our emotions

還有研究顯示：比起聳動的新聞報導，

more effectively than a scary news report.

藝術對情緒有更大的影響力。

Experts predict ice-free Arctic summers

專家預估最快在2020年

as early as 2020，

北極的夏天就會進入無冰期，

And sea levels are likely to rise between two and ten feet

而海平面可能會上升2到10英呎

by century's end.

在本世紀結束之前。

I have dedicated my career to illuminating these projections

我將生涯全心投入在闡釋這些預測

with an accessible medium,

藉由一種親民的途徑，

one that moves us in a way that statistics may not.

以統計數據應該辦不到的方式來打動人心。

My process begins with traveling to the places

我的（創作）流程是從在

at the forefront of climate change.

氣候變遷的指標性地區旅行開始，

On-site, I take thousands of photographs,

在現場，我拍下數千張照片，

and back in the studio,

回到工作室，

I work from both my memory of the experience and the photographs

再同時從對旅程的記憶還有照片取材

to create very large-scale compositions,

來創作尺寸非常大的作品，

sometimes over 10 feet wide.

有的寬度超過10英呎喔。

I draw with soft pastel, which is dry like charcoal, but colors.

我用粉彩來作畫，它就像煤炭一樣乾乾的，但是是彩色的，

I consider my work drawings but others call them painting.

我認為我的創作是畫畫不過其他人說是畫作，

I cringe, though, when I'm referred to as a "finger painter."

當我被介紹是「手指畫家」時還是很不好意思！

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

But I don't use any tools

但我沒有使用任何工具

and I have always used my fingers and palms

而且總是運用手指和手掌

to manipulate the pigment on the paper.

在紙上玩顏料。

Drawing is a form of meditation for me.

畫畫對我來說是種冥想，

It quiets my mind.

它讓我的心安靜下來，

I don't perceive what I'm drawing

我不會把自己正在畫的東西看成是

as ice or water.

冰或是水，

Instead, the image is stripped down

反而是讓畫面回歸到

to its most basic form of color and shape.

顏色和形狀這種最基本的形式，

Once the piece is complete,

要直到整幅畫完成的時候，

I can finally experience the composition as a whole,

我才會感受到作品的整體性——

as an iceberg floating through glassy water,

是一座漂浮在明淨水面上的冰山，

or a wave cresting with foam.

或是浪頭全是泡沫的海浪。

On average, a piece this size takes me about,

平均而言，這個大小的作品大概要花我——

as you can see, 10 seconds.

如你所見——10秒鐘的時間！

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

(Applause)

（掌聲）

Really, more like 200 hours, 250 hours for something that size.

其實這種大小至少要花200小時、250小時左右，

But I've been drawing ever since I could hold a crayon, really.

但我從會拿蠟筆開始就一直在畫畫了，真的，

My mom was an artist, and growing up,

我媽媽是位藝術家，在我成長過程中，

we always had art supplies all over the house.

家裡總是充滿了藝術用品，

My mother's love of photography

我母親對於攝影的熱愛

propelled her to the most remote regions of the earth,

驅使她前往地球最偏遠的那些地方，

and my family and I were fortunate enough

而我和家人也很幸運地能夠

to join and support her on these adventures.

支持她、參與她的探險旅程，

We rode camels in Northern Africa

我們在北非騎駱駝，

and mushed on dog sleds near the North Pole.

在北極坐狗拉的雪橇。

In August of 2012, I led my first expedition,

2012年的八月，我第一次帶領考察隊，

taking a group of artists and scholars up the northwest coast of Greenland.

帶著一群藝術家還有學者到格陵蘭的西北岸，

My mother was originally supposed to lead this trip.

這次考察本來該由我母親帶領，

She and I were in the early stages of planning,

但我們剛開始規劃行程，

as we had intended to go together,

打算要一起去考察的時候，

when she fell victim to a brain tumor.

她罹患了腦瘤，

The cancer quickly took over her body and mind,

癌症很快就擊垮她的身體和意志，

and she passed away six months later.

於是她半年後就過世了，

During the months of her illness, though,

但在她被病痛折磨的那幾個月，

her dedication to the expedition never wavered, and I made a promise

她依然堅持為這趟考察付出，我也承諾會

to carry out her final journey.

代替她完成這最後的旅程。

My mother's passion for the Arctic

在格陵蘭的經歷

echoed through my experience in Greenland,

使我不斷回想起母親對北極的熱愛，

and I felt the power

我感受到自然的偉大力量

and the fragility of the landscape.

還有脆弱之處。

The sheer size of the icebergs

那冰山的巨大

is humbling.

令人望而生畏，

The ice fields are alive with movement and sound

冰原就像有生命一樣，會移動和發出聲音，

in a way that I never expected.

完全超乎我的想像，

I expanded the scale of my compositions

我刻意放大作品的尺寸

to give you that same sense of awe that I experienced.

就是想讓人感受到我所經歷過的那種驚豔和讚嘆。

Yet, while the grandeur of the ice is evident,

可是，冰雪世界的宏偉壯觀有多麼鮮明，

so, too, is its vulnerability.

它的脆弱也是同樣地明顯，

From our boat,

從我們坐的船上，

I could see the ice sweating under the unseasonably warm sun.

可以看見冰雪在季節錯亂的暖陽下融化。

We had a chance to visit many of the Inuit communities in Greenland

我們有幸拜訪了格陵蘭的因紐特人

that now face huge challenges.

他們正面臨著艱鉅的挑戰，

The locals spoke to me of vast areas of sea ice

當地居民告訴我有廣大區域的海冰

that are no longer freezing over as they once did.

再也不像以前那樣保持結冰，

And without ice, their hunting and harvesting grounds

沒有了冰，他們打獵和耕種的土地

are severely diminished,

就急遽地減少，

threatening their way of life and survival.

威脅著他們生活和生存的方式。

The melting glaciers in Greenland

格陵蘭島的冰山融化

are one of the largest contributing factors to rising sea levels,

是導致海平面上升的主要成因之一，

which have already begun to drown

並且已經開始淹沒

some of our world's lowest-lying islands.

全球海拔高度最低的一些島嶼。

One year after my trip to Greenland, I visited the Maldives,

在我去格陵蘭的一年後，我到了馬爾地夫——

the lowest and flattest country in the entire world.

也就是全世界最低最平的國家，

While I was there, I collected images and inspiration

我在那邊為新作品的主題

for a new body of work:

蒐集畫面和靈感，

drawings of waves lapping on the coast of a nation

這組作品是畫海浪拍打在海岸上，但這個國家

that could be entirely underwater within this century.

很可能在本世紀內就會完全被海淹沒了。

Devastating events happen every day

像這樣的悲劇天天都在上演

on scales both global and personal.

不論是全球性的或是個人的。

When I was in Greenland,

當我在格陵蘭時，

I scattered my mother's ashes amidst the melting ice.

我把我母親的骨灰撒在融化的冰川之中，

Now she remains a part of the landscape she loved so much,

現在她和她最最最愛的地方融為一體，

even as it, too, passes and takes on new form.

她對自然的熱愛以新的方式繼續延續。

Among the many gifts my mother gave me

在許許多多的天賦中，母親給我的

was the ability to focus on the positive,

是能專注於好的一面

rather than the negative.

勝過壞的一面，

My drawings celebrate the beauty of what we all stand to lose.

我的畫是對即將消逝的美麗的讚頌，

I hope they can serve as records of sublime landscapes in flux,

我期許它們能記錄不斷在改變的壯麗美景，

documenting the transition and inspiring our global community

記錄自然的變遷並且促使全世界的人們

to take action for the future.

為未來作出行動。

Thank you.

謝謝大家！

(Applause)

（掌聲）