Translation and Ethics

This week on Translation and Ethics we're interviewing

Paulette Alexandra Pagani Masson (also known as Alexandra Masson).

Paulette is a professional translator, interpreter, artist, and Member of Translators for Ethical Business Practices. As someone who is deeply concerned about the environment, she has managed to find a beautiful way to approach recycling and create awareness about environmental protection: by turning trash into art!

Q: You’re originally from England but moved to Latin America at a very young age. You lived in several Latin American countries and moved to Venezuela in 1974. Living abroad is usually a very enriching experience. Could you share a little bit about your family life and childhood with us? What did you like best about each of the places where you lived?

A: Generation after generation of my ancestors has moved around the globe, beginning with a great-great grandfather whom I´m told used to be some sort of pirate captain of the seas. I have family members in Argentina, Venezuela, Colombia, Trinidad and Tobago, the U.S., England, Wales, Ireland, Italy and Australia. We have always been quite an international melting pot in my family. I absolutely love beaches, so I would say the best thing about living in Trinidad and Venezuela are the beaches. Buenos Aires is a fascinating cosmopolitan city; I love its French-inspired architecture and well planned-out streets and broad curbs to walk on, apart from the delicious food (the hand-made ice cream is superb, not to mention the pizzas –something to do with the water I guess). Each culture has its positive and its negative traits and the good aspects of one culture balances out the not-so-good of the other, so I believe it has made me a well-rounded individual: I have the sense of responsibility of the European cultures and also the sense of fun of the Caribbean and Latin American cultures and am also able to feel at home in almost any place and enjoy the cuisine of many lands, which is always enriching. Variety, as they say, is the spice of life!

Q: Do you visit the UK often? How do you like living in Latin America?

A: I don´t visit the UK often but I hope to in the near future because an art gallery in Camden town is offering me exhibit space next year. I am also actively seeking sponsors to help me exhibit my art in other European cities such as Milan. Transporting art is rather costly.

What I like about living in Latin America and in particular in Caracas first of all is the climate (a mild 23° C almost all year-round) and the gaiety of the people (Venezuela is the place with the happiest people on earth, according to the Guiness Book of Records). They are always up for a party. The downside is that they are so happy-go-lucky that they sometimes border on being irresponsible. Unfortunately, there is a big drug-consumption problem among the young and not so young, so insecurity in the streets is a big issue, since a young delinquent drug addict is capable of killing you just to take your cell phone or shoes in order to get quick money for a fix. So despite the weather being so benign, which would be conducive to being out in the streets and enjoying the night life until late, this is not the case due to the insecurity in the streets.

Q: You changed majors in college. You started studying biology and then switched to interpretation. What motivated that change?

A: I really and truly wanted to study psychology. At the time, the state university offering that career had limited places for foreigners and no place was left for me the year I graduated from high school. I had always been good at biology, so I decided to present the exam to enter into a very prestigious state-owned university where only brain boxes are admitted, in order not to waste a year at home. I passed the test and was accepted but after two years I realized it was not really the career I wanted to work in for the rest of my life. Ever since I was a little girl, family friends would tell me that I had a flair for switching from the English language to the Spanish language and vice versa so I decided to study translating and interpreting. It really comes naturally to me. I really was born with a talent for simultaneous interpretation. I enjoy it very much because I have the chance to work in all manner of topics. It´s the best career for someone who gets easily bored and who loves to read and find out about new things. This career has also enabled me to travel to places I would not ordinarily have gone to, with all expenses paid PLUS fees!!

Q: Tell us a little bit about your professional background.

A: At the beginning of my career I was in high demand by the oil industry, so that led me to become specialized in that subject matter. I used to accept the first job I was offered. In retrospect, that was a mistake, because now courses for the oil industry have dried up due to internal political decisions by the current government and many of my colleagues have segued into interpretation for medical conferences. I also work sometimes in these but lost many years in which I focused only on oil. I like (most) medical subjects and actually find it more interesting than finding out how to extract more oil from the ground… but by now my colleagues have monopolized the market of medical simultaneous interpreting and only call me as a last resort. Unfortunately, there is a lot of backstabbing and blind ambition and greed in this profession in this country. An older, not-so-pretty interpreter will think twice about calling in a younger, more attractive colleague who is good at her job, because there is much fear of losing the customers… In this country, good looks sometimes opens lots of doors.

Q: In your life summary you mention that your career in translation facilitated your artistic development. How was that so?

A: The main reason my career in translation has facilitated my artistic development is due to the financial security it has provided. I am in touch with many up-and-coming artists who have chosen to study and work in only art-related jobs and they are all suffering from a serious lack of money, to the point of not having monetary resources to buy even paints. I feel very sorry for them. They are really struggling. In this country, a lot has to do with getting a curator to like your work and back you and help you get exposure and that is extremely difficult some times. Making a living solely as an artist is extremely difficult in this country.

Q: As someone who is very concerned about the environment, you have managed to come up with a very unique way of creating awareness about environmental issues by turning trash into art. Can you tell us about the concept behind your art? What inspired you to do this?

A: In his book called ¨Peace is the Way¨, Deepak Chopra states that the inner is reflected in the outer. This thought has moved me profoundly and has led me to countless hours of daydreaming trying to elucidate the ramifications and repercussions of such a simple but mind-blowing statement. The rubbish we see outside of us is a reflection of the rubbish inside. We humans are torn by two conflicting forces, eros (the life-affirming force) and thanatos (the death and destruction-seeking force). I know it because I see it in my family, in my friends and in myself. Creation and destruction are always present, inside and outside. When we manage to turn our destructive impulses into creative ones, we will all be better off, because we will have attained unity within ourselves and therefore outside of ourselves. Nature mirrors this conflict that is inside of us.

Turning trash into art is my personal way of trying to turn my trash into something beautiful, as my tiny contribution or grain of salt towards living in more harmonious surroundings. Perhaps it is also a way of domesticating the beast, the beast meaning the dark side in me… Beauty has always been important to me. A great philosopher once said that beauty is truth. I would like to explore that thought more deeply and really understand what it means. I want to create art from things that already exist, by transforming them and revealing what is hidden from others. My astrological sign is Sagittarius, a sign of fire. Fire destroys in order to clear space for creation. Fire also keeps us warm and cozy. Fire kills germs and bacteria, thereby protecting us from unseen threats. Fire has a dual nature, so to speak, the creative and the destructive sides.

Some of the themes for me to study in more depth in the future are precisely the theme of beauty and the beast, the theme of how to conquer the beast and let beauty flourish, the dual nature of fire, the re-inventing of oneself (which happens to so many people during their lifetimes) and rising from the ashes like the Phoenix bird of mythology… so many things to do and to explore and to learn and so little time in the span of just one lifetime…!

Click here to view Paulette’s professional profile.