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Since 2012, the world has witnessed the killings of Trayvon Martin,
2012年开始，世界见证了塔拉万·马丁、
Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Sandra Bland, Tamir Rice
迈克尔·布朗、埃里克·加纳，桑德拉·布兰德、塔米尔·莱斯
and literally countless other unarmed black citizens at the hands of the police,
等一系列手无寸铁的非裔公民被警察射杀，
who frequently walk away with no punishment at all.
并且警察经常无罪开释。
In consideration of these victims and the several times that even I,
想到这些受害者和很多次我自己的经历，
a law-abiding, Ivy League professor, have been targeted and harassed at gunpoint by the police.
作为一位守法的春藤盟校的教授，我也曾经被警察袭击，被枪口直接指着。
I created this body of work simply entitled "BAM."
想到这些，我创作了这个艺术，并且简单的命名为“嘣”。
It was important to erase the identity of each of these figures,
为了让他们看起来一样，并且容易被忽视
to make them all look the same and easier to disregard.
抹去这些雕塑的身份是非常重要的。
To do this, I dip them in a thick, brown wax
我先把它们放在浓稠的棕色液体蜡之中，
before taking them to a shooting range where I re-sculpted them using bullets.
然后带到了射击场，在那里我用子弹进行重新雕塑。
And it was fun, playing with big guns and high-speed video cameras.
使用大型枪支配合高速摄影机是非常有趣的。
But my reverence for these figures kept me from actually pulling the trigger,
但是我对于这些雕塑的尊敬，让我无法扣动扳机
somehow feeling as if I would be shooting myself.
突然我感觉我好像在对我自己射击。
Finally, my cameraman, Raul, fired the shots.
最后我的摄像师，劳尔，替我开了枪。
I then took the fragments of these and created molds, and cast them first in wax,
我取回打碎的雕塑并制造模具，在外表裹上一层蜡，
and finally in bronze like the image you see here,
最后镀上铜色，就像你们看到的这样。
which bears the marks of its violent creation like battle wounds or scars.
每一个雕塑都有着暴力制造的印记，就像战场上的伤痕。
When I showed this work recently in Miami,
当我最近在迈阿密展出我的作品时，
a woman told me she felt every gun shot to her soul.
一位女性告诉我她感到每一枪都打在她的灵魂上。
But she also felt that these artworks memorialized the victims of these killings
同时她觉得这些艺术品纪念了这些死去的受害者
as well as other victims of racial violence throughout US history.
也纪念了整个美国历史上，因为种族犯罪而牺牲的所有人
But "Lotus" and "BAM" are larger than just US history.
但是“莲花”和“嘣”的意义，已经超越了美国历史。
While showing in Berlin last year,
去年在柏林展出时，
a philosophy student asked me what prompted these recent killings.
一位哲学学生问我，是什么引发了最近的杀戮。
I showed him a photo of a lynching postcard from the early 1900s
我向他展示了一张20世纪早期的一张画着处以私刑的明信片。
and reminded him that these killings have been going on for over 500 years.
我告诉他这些杀戮已经持续了超过500年历史。
But it's only through questions like his
但是只有通过像他所问的问题
and more thoughtful dialogue about history and race can we evolve as individuals and society.
和对于历史和种族的更多深刻的对话，我们个人和社会才会进化。
I hope my artwork creates a safe space for this type of honest exchange
我希望我的艺术品，可以为这样坦诚的交流提供一个安全的环境
and an opportunity for people to engage one another in real and necessary conversation.
也为那些投身于真实且必要的对话之中的人提供一个机会。
Thank you.
谢谢。
