​　　沈娜是70后一代女性绘画的一个另类例子，她的绘画描绘了女性绘画之前没有出现过的女性形象，即女同性恋形象，以及类似于日本漫画的图像风格。对于日本漫画和同性恋题材的爱好，也许在70后这一代群体中不在少数。但像沈娜那样大胆地形象表现，在当代女性艺术中还是为数不多。

　　那么她本人是同性恋吗?这是很多人想得知的，因为这个提问，使得沈娜的画总好像有一个谜存在，显现出一种神秘性。但是据我的经验，真正的同性恋者一般并不至于做出像画面如此的张扬举动，同性恋者一般都比较腼腆和含蓄，真正身体上的行动迷恋也并不是同性爱之高境界。

　　沈娜这个被统称为“右手”的绘画系列，主要还是借用了日本漫画的图像和女同性恋的题材，我把这看作是一种形像的借用，通过同性恋形象表达这一代女孩的自我释放、自由性和自娱自乐的内在性变化。沈娜的绘画是否具有一种自我传记性质，这并不重要，重要的在于她的绘画呈现了新一代女性的形象模式，即这一代女孩她们既不是好女孩，也不是坏女孩。

　　70后绘画对当代绘画的一个主要突破，无疑在于人物主体的形象模式开始进入一种真实的自我混杂性的描绘，70后绘画全面突破上一代绘画对好人和坏人两极形象的单面性描绘，而是试图表现这一代人的自我道德状态在形象表现上的复杂性和身份边界的不清晰性。70后艺术因此贡献了一批面目表情复杂的男孩和女孩形象，前者如尹朝阳、谢南星等人的“青春残酷男孩”，后者如杨帆、沈娜等人的“酷女孩”。

　　相对而言，70后艺术在九十年代末的男孩和女孩形象，尽管自我形象开始呈现自我复杂的一面，但总体上还是比较沉重和感伤。像尹朝阳的“阳光下的伤感男孩”，形象上只是表现了自我对于现状的一种矛盾和混浊状态，以及社会立场的不确定性，但这些男孩从直观上看，仍然可以称得上是一批好男孩。

　　作为70末出生的一代，沈娜笔下的女孩在行为状态上要简单明了得多，比如她们穿着暴露、眼神和嘴角显得性情挥发而神经质，彼此之间的仿同性爱身体举动，以及处于兴奋和快感而毫无痛苦踪影的少女活力。这无疑都是在一种极其明确而又没有任何自我障碍和道德犹豫的前提下产生的，这种自我状态体现为一种率性而为的简单和直接性。

　　在这种行为的单一性呈现的同时，这些女孩形象上的身份性却受到了一种界限的破坏，即她们看起来既不像坏女孩也不像是好女孩。不坏也不好的女孩形象在杨帆的女孩绘画系列中已经有界限模糊的萌芽，她们原有身份界定的形象特征正在丢失，但杨的女孩似乎还只是呈现她们正在变得不是什么，而还看不出她们正在成为什么。

　　但“正在成为什么”的形象特征，事实上在沈娜的女孩身上正在明显地出现。与其说在沈娜绘画中看到的是一幅幅在大学女生宿舍或者夜总会可能出现的同性恋画面，还不如说沈娜表现了新一代人的肆无忌惮、自娱自乐，以及一种绝对的自我支配主义。沈娜的形象更像是一种表现性的自我图像，而不是一种现实的纪录。她所生活的四川美院周围有不少盗版漫画书店，这也使她这一代人在卡通文化中成长。

　　沈娜选择了卡通作为形象风格，这种图像是一种散漫笔触和表现性色调的日本漫画的图像风格。而人物形象实际上也成为一种表现载体，她选择了一种表情敏感、眼神神经质、衣着极少和迷恋肌肤相亲的女孩形象。沈娜的女孩仅仅从70后绘画对于女性形象的突破而言似乎已经不止于此，她的绘画实际上还呈现了新一代女性或者70后更年轻的一代正在形成的一种正面性的身份特征，他们不仅仅是“不是什么”，而是“正在是什么”。

　　同性恋在“右手”系列中实际上更像是一种性别化的或者泛性化的女性意识取向，同时这种性别化或者泛性化也正在反映为一种这一代的自我取向，一旦直接地导向这种身体化趋向，这一代人势必越来越远离甚至彻底离开原有的传统趋向。这种变化事实上正在这一代人身上发生。

　　穿着的暴露和肌肤相亲的举动，越来越成为这一代青年女性甚至可以肆无忌惮地公共化的性别表现，而在日常经验中，这一代青年女性也可以在同性之间体验一种泛性化，甚至可以大部分时间不依赖于异性而得到满足，这还可以促使人性变得敏感。而更为重要的是，这也是70后一代人注重身体化经验的开始。

　　所有反映上一代人青年身份的形象特征在沈娜绘画中似乎都消失了，这些女孩具有一种本能的自我沉醉状态，沉醉在自我释放、自由性和快感之中，她们的眼神似乎不关心外界的一切事情，更不用提责任感，她们甚至好像都不关心过去和未来。但沈娜的女孩还不是那种绝对意义的个人化或者绝对单体意义上自我支配主义，她们还是好像陶醉在一种现代女儿世界。

　　沈娜的绘画表现了一种充满集体安全感的特定的性别空间，那些女孩把身边或者对面的另一个女孩看成是一个同质的成员，在这个乌托邦集体中，一切好像都是可以任性妄为，不会发生任何伤害，这在画面上表现为一种“同质的就是安全的”的自我意识。

　　“右手”系列可以分为两类，一类是反映任性妄为，像双人或者多人的女孩之间的同性爱;还有一类是反映新女孩的某种自我面貌，只是两个或者多个女孩分开站着或者由各种新女孩的表现性行为，并无同性爱举动。沈娜的女孩在自我构成上总体表现为一种脱道德化的倾向，她们的形象体现出诸如身体化、感官性和自我娱乐的特征，行为并没有思考的迹象和外在的禁忌，并且她们似乎也只将同类之间的相亲相爱当作一个最可靠的想象，将身体化和自娱性当作一种可以触摸的价值。

　　沈娜的绘画试图在描绘她这一代女孩身上的敏感而新生的特质，这幅形象已经大致勾勒出来了。这些女孩正在试图抛弃一切不可靠和不可触摸的身份特征和自我想象，从而使好女孩和坏女孩都变得不可能，由此使自我打开了通向各个方向的可能性，并因此变得比上一代人更自由。这在另一个层面无意中揭示了这一代女孩的成长悖论，即这种对于可靠性和可以触摸性的想象和自娱的亲近，恰恰在于这个时代在精神和道德层面正在变得不可靠和不可触摸。

　　2005年11月8日写于望京

　Neither Bad Girls, Nor Good

　　------On the “Right-hand” Painting Series by Shen Na

　　Zhu Qi

　　Being exceptional among the post 70s female painters, Shen Na has depicted a whole new female image – the image of lesbians, in a style similarly to the Japanese erotic cartoons. Many young people in the post 70s camp are in favour of Japanese cartoons and the theme of homosexuality, but Shen Na is among the few who stand out manifesting this theme boldly.

　　In that case, many people have the curiosity to know whether she is a lesbian herself; therefore, Shen Na’s paintings always appear to be enveloped by a sense of mystery. Based on my knowledge, I suppose real homosexuals do not usually act that wildly as those in the paintings. On the other hand, they tend to be shy and reserved, and it is also not considered lofty to show so much fascination on their partners’ bodies.

　　I understand Shen Na’s “Right-hand” painting as a borrowing from the Japanese erotic cartoon images and the theme of lesbians, in the purpose to express the inner change of girls of her generation --- self-release, freedom and self-entertainment. It is not important to know whether or not her paintings contain the qualities of autobiography, but crucial to realize that her paintings have displayed the model image for the new generation of women, that is, this generation of girls are neither good in common sense nor bad.

　　A chief breakthrough in modern painting provided by the post 70s painters is undoubtedly on the image of the major characters in their paintings, which combine the painters’ own qualities. There are no absolutely positive or negative figures in their paintings as is common in those of the previous generation; whereas, they are engaged in illustrating the complexity of images and blurring of identity for their own generation, thus contributing a group of boy and girl images whose identities are difficult to identify, e.g., the “young cool boys” by Yin Zhaoyang and Xie Nanxing and “cool girls” by Yang Fan and Shen Na etc.

　　Generally speaking, the boy and girl images of late 90s by post 70s are contemplative and gloomy though demonstrating their complex side. Take “The Gloomy Boys under the Sunshine” for example, though the boys show their contradiction and doubt to the reality, as well as their indefiniteness of their social standpoints, they may still be regarded as “good boys”.

　　Born in late 70s, the girls under Shen Na’s brushes are much simpler to identify from their movements and appearances such as the exposure of their bodies, the edginess and eager revealed from their eyes and the corner of their lips, the body movements between them imitating the lesbians, and the liveliness of girls who are feeling high and blissful and in no way painful. Obviously, all these take place when they feel definitely sure about themselves without placing any self barriers or moral uncertainty in the front, which conveys their forthright simplicity and directness.

　　While presenting the simplicity of their behaviour, the boundary of the images of these girls is blurred, making them appear to be neither good nor bad girls. In Yang Fan’s painting series on girls, these blurring images have started to germinate, loosing their original characteristics of their appearance which may show their identity. However, Yang’s girls only seem to give us an idea about what they are turning not to be but not what they are growing to be.

　　Nevertheless, the characteristics of “what they are growing to be” can be easily identified in Shen Na’s girls. Rather than possible pictures in the dormitories of female university students or at nightclubs, it is better to say that Shen Na has depicted of her generation the absence of all conventional restraints, the self entertainment and satisfaction, as well as the absolute self-domination. Her images are more like the exaggerated and expressive self-portrait than records of the real life. There are quite many bookstores selling pirated cartoons around her residence in Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts, which provides her generation an environment of cartoon culture during their growth.

　　Shen Na has chosen cartoon as the style of her images, similar to the Japanese erotic cartoon style which has a lax stroke of paint but focuses more on the expressive tones. The image itself is in fact a carrier of what she wants to express, and girls in her paintings have sensitive and neurotic expressions in their eyes, wear little clothes and are fascinated by the intimacy among girls. The breakthrough of Shen Na’s paintings on girl images does not end here, since it also unfolds the growing and positive identity of the new-age female. They are growing to be what they want, instead of becoming what they are expected of.

　　Another important issue in her “right hand” series is the theme of lesbians, which is more like a choice of her gender-blurring female awareness. This gender-blurring value has become a personal choice of the new generation. Once it leads to the realization physically, the generation will definitely be further and further until going totally astray from the traditional values. As a matter of fact, the transforming is taking place on this generation.

　　To be aware of this phenomenon, we should notice that the new generation females are not afraid to expose their bodies and show physical intimacy even in public places. Moreover, they might even experience the satisfaction with the absence of the other gender, which motivates the human nature to be more sensitive. More importantly, it is also the beginning when the post 70s emphasize their physical experience.

　　All the characteristics of the images reflecting the identity of the previous generation seem to disappear in Shen Na’s paintings. Her girls are instinctually self-intoxicated in their exposure, freedom and contentment; they don’t seem to care about anything outside, let alone responsibility, and they are not even concerned with the past or the future. However, Shen Na’s girls are not absolute individualists or self-dominated, rather they appear to be intoxicated in a modern female-only world.

　　Shen Na’s paintings present a specific space for females full of collective security, where these girls regard another girl next to or opposite as a member with the same quality. In this utopian group, they can indulge themselves in doing anything without worrying about any injury, which expresses the self-consciousness that “it is secure to share the same quality”.

　　The “Right Hand” painting series can be divided into two categories: one reflects the outrageous behaviour such as the homosexual love between two girls or among a group of girls; the other depicts a certain image of new-generation girls who usually stand alone in gestures of making love but not a homosexual one. Shen Na’s girls, in general, demonstrate a tendency of escaping from the normal ethics, since their physical appearance and self-entertaining behaviour show no evidence of logic thinking or external taboo; what’s more, they seem to take the mutual love and care with the same gender only as a most reliable imagination, and physical intimacy and self-entertainment as a touchable profit.

　　Shen Na is trying to portray the sensitive and brand new qualities of the girls in her generation, and the image has already been outlined. These girls are attempting to abandon any unreliable or untouchable identity or self expectation, which makes it impossible neither for the good girls nor the bad ones thus opens for them the door to any possibility; therefore, they enjoy more freedom than the previous generation. This reveals on another level the contradiction during the growth of the girls of this generation, i.e., their imagination of the reliability and touchability as well as their intimacy of self entertainment are just based on the fact that this era is becoming less reliable and touchable spiritually and ethically.