马来西亚的现代艺术历史，其实很短。不到七十年。
很多我们今天称为“前辈”的艺术家，在不久以前，都还真实地活在这个土地上。
Modern Malaysian art history is quite short—less than seventy years. Many of the artists we call "seniors" today were living on this land not so long ago.
所以在那个年代，其实没有所谓真正意义上的“修复师”。
或者更准确地说——当时的语境，并不“需要”修复师。
Thus, in that era, there were no "restorers" in the true sense of the word. Or more accurately, the context did not "require" them.
因为原画家都还在。
很多时候，作品出现损坏、裂痕、颜料脱落，最自然的做法，就是由艺术家自己处理。而且在当时，这也被认为是最合理、最适合的方式。
Because the original artists were still here. When damages, cracks, or paint loss appeared, the most natural course was for the artist to handle it personally. At the time, this was considered the most logical and appropriate way.
后来我开始真正接触修复以后，每次面对一件旧作品，我都会特别小心。尤其是那些已经存在旧修补痕迹的画。
如果没有明确证据证明那些修复是后来别人做的，我通常会选择保留它。甚至不去碰它。
After I began my journey in formal restoration, I became extremely cautious with old works—especially those bearing traces of previous repairs. Without clear evidence that those repairs were done by someone else, I usually choose to preserve them. I might even leave them untouched.
因为我始终会想到一种可能：也许，那是原画家自己留下的修补。如果是这样，那么我现在的介入，会不会反而覆盖掉作品原本的一部分历史？
Because I always consider a possibility: perhaps those were repairs made by the original artist. If so, wouldn't my intervention inadvertently cover up a piece of the work's inherent history?
我后来读到一些研究时，这种感觉变得更强烈。关于 刘抗（Liu Kang）作品研究的论文 中，就提到艺术家本人曾经修补、覆盖、处理过自己的作品。
This feeling intensified when I read research papers, such as those on Liu Kang's work, which mentioned how the artist himself would repair, overpaint, or treat his own creations.
那一刻我突然意识到，有些“旧修复”，其实未必只是修复。它可能是艺术家在某一个时期，重新面对自己作品时留下的痕迹。而这些痕迹，本身也已经成为作品历史的一部分。
I realized then that some "old repairs" might not just be fixes. They could be traces left by the artist revisiting their own work at a certain point in time. These traces themselves have become part of the work's narrative.
AIC 的修复准则 里，也不断强调：修复师必须尊重作品的历史与独特性。所以现在的我，面对一些旧痕迹时，会比以前更慢一点。
不是因为不会修。而是开始意识到，有些东西，也许不应该急着被“修掉”。
The AIC Code of Ethics emphasizes that restorers must respect the history and uniqueness of the work. Now, I move slower when facing old traces. Not because I lack the skill, but because I've realized some things perhaps shouldn't be "fixed away" so hastily.
“有时候，真正需要被保留的，不只是画面。还有时间曾经经过它的证据。”
"Sometimes, what truly needs preservation is not just the image, but the evidence of time passing through it."
“而我能做的，也许只是尽量不要让自己的介入，盖过了它原本的声音。”
"And all I can do, perhaps, is to ensure my intervention does not drown out its original voice."