出生台灣花蓮 , 現住荷蘭。於玉山國家公園管理處技士期間，已對台灣環境變化，與戶外運動的社會現象進行觀察分析, 台大土木交通組碩士班後, 赴比利時魯汶大學建築規畫所取得碩士。運用在比利時西歐等地城市觀察,克羅埃西亞、 衣索比亞難民營與柬埔寨工作經驗，在台灣出版四本力求社會文化分析的文學作品。
荷蘭海牙皇家藝術學院(Den Haag)與登博斯藝術學院(Den Bosch)期間，她在文字思想與視覺作品之間，築起聯繫橋樑。阿姆斯特丹畫展以「身體」為主體，則透露出她在這段期間對解剖醫學的興趣。對她而言，練跑的生活其實就是一種回歸本性，與探索環境的參禪過程。從「實踐藝術」般的跑步生活，「痛苦」與「撞牆的尊榮」是她現階段繪畫主題。
Education
Taiwan University (臺灣大學), Taiwan, Building and City Planning – Master degree
Leuven University (鲁汶大學), Belgium, Architecture and City Planning – Master degree
Royal Academy of Fine Arts, The Hague, Netherlands
Academy of Fine Arts, Den Bosch, Netherlands
Publications (in Mandarin)
1996 五彩梯上天堂, A Colorful Ladder to Heaven, 皇冠文學出版有限公司,CROWN Publishing
1997 獻神的舞慾, The Desire to Honor My Gods: Angkor Wat, 皇冠文學出版有限公司,CROWN Publishing
1998 流浪者的廚房,Nomad’s Cooking Book,大塊文化, LOCUS Publishing
1999 找不到家的街角, Street Corner that can’t Find its Home, ,聯合文學出版社有限公司,UNITAS Publishing
Exhibitions
1999 phnom penh, cambodia
2001 taipei, taiwan
2002 amsterdam, the netherlands
2002 asten, the netherlands
2003 the hague, the netherlands
2004 amsterdam, the netherlands
2015 amsterdam, the netherlands
2016 hengelo, the netherlands
2016 enschede, the netherlands
2018 hengelo, the netherlands (group exhibiton)
Marathons
2010 Drente Klazinaveen NL 4:57
2011 Enschede NL 4:48
2011 Paris Vincennes FR 4:48
2012 Utrecht NL 4:39
2013 Frankfurt DE 4:57
2014 Hamburg DE 5:04
2015 Rotterdam NL 5:01
2016 Amsterdam NL 4:43
2018 Enschede NL 4:49
2019 Enschede NL 4:53
Mrs. Ygreck Shyu (徐世怡) was born in 1962 in Taiwan.
After receiving her Masters degree in city planning at the University of Taiwan in Taipei, she followed a postgraduate course with Habitat in Leuven, Belgium.
During her studies she started painting and writing, which she continued to do, during her professional career in city planning in Taiwan, and until today.
From 2002 she lives and works in Europe.
為什麼我的英文名字這麼奇怪
已經有一個名字,為什麼還要另取個名字?
第一次知道得找個英文名字,是在辦護照時候。二十三歲了,雖然中學,高中與大一加起來學了七年的英文,卻從來沒出過台灣大門,也沒有必要和甚麼人用英文交談。
“外文名字”? 我想那只不過是填表應付一下,找到一本老得不得了的”漢英字典”:姓(family name):徐=Shyu,名字(first name)世怡=Shyh-Yi。 白紙上印著黑字,我也不知道對還是不對,照著字典寫,應是”標準答案”吧,反正就是填個表罷了。 “如果外國人不會唸我的名字?” 我帶點”義和團”流氓氣地認為,那是”他們”的問題, 跟我一點關係也沒有!人家說, 行不更名,坐不改姓,應該就是這道理。一個響噹噹的中文名字就夠用了,幹嘛還要崇洋媚外加個洋名字?
一九八九年後進入比利時魯汶大學碩士班,雖與教授與當地人有互動,生活圈子仍以”同國” 為主,那個拗口的護照拼音名字不是很方便,但還不至於對我造成什麼太大的問題。
之後,住在衣索比亞,柬埔寨與荷蘭的幾年, 介紹自己給非華人的場合多,光是解釋四聲音韻,花了不少時間,麻煩的是還要努力按住不耐煩的嘴角。 更慘的是,如果好心安慰這些外國人: ” 我的名字難唸,中文發音不簡單…”這反而更激勵他們的努力。噘嘴發音,期待我發出讚美:”哇,你是我所遇到,第一個可以把我名字唸對的人!”
等他們發出類似”撕死義”三個音節,我禮貌地告知,聲音不對,我的名字已錯成”吃死魚” 。愈改愈慘,他們更想證明有”尊重中華文化的誠心”,”S…S…這次對了嗎?”
熬了幾年,從不耐煩到有點生氣,不禁要問自己:”我是仇恨外國人?” ”到底是對人生氣,還是對這束手無策的情況生氣?”
現在回頭細看,撐了那麼久,綁著一個身邊沒人會唸的名字,讓自己難過,也讓別人不方便。這樣久久不能面對問題,難怪要彆扭不開心。
* * *
接下來的是怎麼找個外文名字?護照名字拼音,每個字都有”y”這個字母, 所以就從這個”y”源頭來取我的新名字: “y”原屬希臘母群 (αβγδε….ϒ….) 其中之一,法國布列塔尼(Bretagne)的拼法是”Y-greck” 。(我婆婆是來自法國北邊的布列塔尼,他們有自己不同於法文的方言與拼音。 )
對我而言,靠英倫海峽布列塔尼和我出生地台灣花蓮,有一個很重要的相似點:它們都靠海。站在這兩個海邊,如果風向、地點對,你可以感到體內血液的鹹度與空氣的鈉離子是互相融合… 。用布列塔尼拼法寫我的外文名字,似乎也透露我與鹹鹹海霧的座標關係…。
我從原本中文名字出發,延伸到護照本的外文拼音名字,提粹出一個字母”y”,用法國布列塔尼的拼法寫出六個字母,做成一個新名字。
找個新名字並不難。但要說服自己,’增加個外文名字’並不表示媚外叛國…,這卻需要點時間…去打開智慧大門…。
At that time I had studied English in school for more then 7 years, but I had never had any English conversation with any native English speaking people.
“An English name”? – I thought it was just for administrative purposes. So I picked up an antique looking “Chinese-English” dictionary, used the ‘spelling’ as my English name: Shyu, Shyh-Yi. Job done! Just a bureaucratic procedure.
I never thought the pronunciation could be a problem for foreigners. If they could not pronounce my name correctly, I thought simply, it would be “their” problem, not mine. Because me is me, my name should be only one, that is my Taiwanese name. Pure patriotic thinking.
In 1989, my life completely changed. Living and studying in Leuven, Belgium, for 3 and half year was a quiet life. I still lived very much inside the Taiwanese students circle, my English name did not give me too much problems.
Later, living in in Ethiopia, Cambodia and in Holland, introducing my name to strangers became more and more time-consuming.
In the end I was fed up of explaining my “Shyu, Shyh-Yi” pronunciation to the people I newly met. If I sincerely told them: “the pronunciation is very difficult”, those friendly people would become even more eager to show their determination to learn the Chinese 4-tone. From their eyes, I knew they expected I would say, “Wow, you are the first person who can pronounce my name perfect just like native Taiwanese.”
After they tried very hard to pronounce the different tones, “Shyu(1st tone), Shyh(4th tone)… When I told them that they made my name sound like “dead fish” in Chinese, they would be even more determined to suck their cheeks in and try again :“S*##*Y**.. is now correct?”
After about 4 years, my emotion changed from impatient towards angry: “Am I xenophobic?” Angry towards those foreigners or angry to myself?”
After so many years, I realized that my anger was towards the situation, to the fate, it was agony about the situation that I did not do anything to solve the problem.
Other Taiwanese people may be lucky to have a name easy to pronounce, but my name falls in the category that becomes a muddy sound.
– –
So, how to find a name for me? In each word: “Shyu, Shyh-Yi”, there was the letter “y”, so I choose to use that letter as my name. In Bretagne (France), this letter is called “y-g-r-e-c-k” , and so this became my calling name.
To find a new name, technically, is easy. But to convince myself, that adding a calling name does not mean I have betrayed my patriotic spirit needs some time… Some time to wait for the right wisdom to open my heart….
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