We Believe in Balloons|幸福气球

We Believe in Balloons

by Marcus Maurice

Can 10,000 pink balloons bring peace to a war-torn nation?

　　The streets of Kabul, Afghanistan are rough and rugged as well as dusty and dirty. Most of the buildings are old and have bullet or bomb holes in them. Since the late 1970s, the streets of Kabul have been a war zone, with the Soviets occupying the city, the Taliban then seizing control, and the US later invading it. Now, a man has plans for a different kind of attack. Instead of warheads, Yazmany Arboleda bombed the streets of Kabul with 10,000 pink balloons.

　　Arboleda is a multimedia artist that has traveled the world creating living sculptures as part of his Monday Morning series. In his installations, volunteers give away 10,000 balloons of a certain color to random people on the streets who are on their way to work on the first day of the work week. In Bangalore, India, orange balloons were given out, symbolizing the spices used in India's cooking. In Yamaguchi, Japan, the balloons were green to show support for their success in developing green spaces.

　　In Kabul, hot pink balloons, which promote equality for women, popped out against the brown backgrounds of the city. Every balloon that was handed out was donated by another person for US$1 and had a message of peace for the receiver. Arboleda wanted to create a moment of unexpected happiness for people having to go to work. In Kabul, this sculpture was done on a Saturday, which is considered the beginning of the week there. Since Kabul is still a very dangerous place, the date for Monday Morning wasn't announced beforehand. Instead, it was a colorful surprise when the streets were filled with pink balloons.

 

幸福气球

一万颗粉红色气球能为一个饱受战乱摧残的国家带来和平吗？

　　阿富汗喀布尔市的街道相当崎岖不平，空气也灰蒙蒙的，又很脏乱。该市大多数的建筑物都很老旧，而且上面布满了子弹和炸弹所留下的弹孔。从 1970 年代末期开始，喀布尔市的街道就成了苏联所占领的战区，接着由塔利班组织接手控制该市，后来美国也大举侵略当地。现在，有个人计划要展开一种不一样的攻击。由亚斯曼尼．阿巴勒达所发起的这项攻击并不是使用弹头，而是要用一万颗粉红色气球轰炸喀布尔市的街道。

　　阿巴勒达是一位多媒体艺术家，他环游世界打造『真人雕塑』（编按：原文中的 living sculpture 指的并非真正的雕像，而是用真人来表达作者所要传达的概念）来作为他『星期一早晨』系列作品的一部份。在他的装置艺术中，义工们会在一星期中的第一个工作日在街上随机发送特定颜色的气球给那些要去上班的人们。在印度的邦加罗尔市，他们发送的是橘色的气球，象征了印度料理中所使用的香料。在日本的山口县，这些气球是绿色的，其目的是用来表现他们对该市成功发展绿色空间的支持。

　　在喀布尔，用来推广女性平权的鲜艷粉红色气球在该市咖啡色背景的衬托下出现在当地。义工们发送的每一颗气球都是由另一个人捐出一块钱美金并在上面写下有关和平的留言给拿到气球的人。阿巴勒达想要为那些必须去上班的人们打造一个意想不到的幸福时刻。在喀布尔，这个活动是在某一个星期六举行，而星期六在当地被视为是一个星期的开始。由于喀布尔目前仍是个很危险的地方，因此『星期一早晨』活动举办的日期并没有事先公布。当街上充满了粉红色气球，反而是一种多采多姿的惊喜。