The above passage is the climax of Hemingway’s “A Clean Well-Lighted Place” which is the principal source for this body of work. In the story, Hemmingway’s protagonist rejects the view of death through old religious structures and implies that the rigid ceremonies of the church are only a distraction- a means of coping with an indifferent universe. The story is decidedly existential in nature and filled with the symbolism of dark and light. The story is a catalyst that has led me to explore themes of isolation, time and its passing, darkness and mortality within a modern, urban context.

一個乾淨明亮的所在

「那是一種他很了解的虛無。全都是虛無飄渺，人也虛無飄渺。所需要的只是虛無、光亮、乾淨以及一種井然有序。有的人生活在虛無之中，可是從沒有感覺到，但是他知道一切全都是虛無，無止境的虛無。我們的虛無，願那所顯現的名諱虛無，願那王國虛無；願虛無將虛無行在虛無就如同在虛無。求這次虛無賞給我們日用的虛無；求你虛無我們的虛無，如同我們虛無別人一樣；請虛無我們不要讓我們陷於虛無；但救我們免於虛無。虛無。」

以上是海明威短篇故事《一個乾淨明亮的所在》的重要段落，這篇是主要激發我創作的靈感來源。在故事中，主人翁透過舊式宗教的結構來反對死亡的觀點，並暗示那些教堂裡的死板儀式只是一種消遣－一種與冷漠宇宙相處的方式。這個故事絕對帶有存在的本質，並且充滿黑暗與光明的象徵。這個故事促使我探索關於孤立、時光和它本身的流逝，以及在現代都會的景況中的黑暗與死亡。

Youth is wasted on the young.

The phrase is cliché but carries truth in these photographs.

These kids grew up in Tucson. They were locals, still in their teens. They didn’t go to school and could barely keep a job. The ones who didn’t work got money from their parents or sold drugs and stole to get by. They were free from parental supervision and expectations. Speeding through life, they only cared about what they were doing, never concerning themselves with where their lives were going.

But what was the result of the freedom and good times they experienced? Today, some are addicts, some are in rehab, others skipped town to avoid the police or local grudges. These photographs show my friends when they were still young, running amok, and loving every minute of it.

年輕大聲沒有用

青春就是該浪費在年少輕狂之時。

以上都是陳腔濫調了，但這些相片正說著事實。

這些孩子在塔岡城長大。他們都是當地人，都還年輕。他們沒有去學校，也很難保有一份工作。那些不工作的人跟他們父母拿錢，或者藉著販毒和偷竊牟利。他們不用背負父母的管教和期許。時光匆匆，他們只在意自己的事情，從不關心自己生活的周遭發生了什麼。

但，在體驗這樣的自由和快樂的後果是什麼？現在，有的人得到藥癮，有的人在勒戒所，其他有的則是逃到鎮外躲避警察的追捕或當地黑道。這些照片顯現出我朋友還年輕時的模樣，他們恣意失控地過活，享受當下的每一秒。