Indoor Paper Sculpture Garden Redefines Traditional Culture with Innovation
Aspired to rejuvenate Chinese arts and culture, this summer MGM once again joins hands with internationally acclaimed cross-media artist Jennifer Wen Ma to present a new, sublimated large-scale immersive sculptural landscape installation, A Landscape of Metamorphosis: No End to End, at MGM COTAI. Originating from the topos of Chinese ink painting, this latest addition of MGM Chairman’s Collection is an ever-altering 3D Shan Shui installation – Taking inspiration from traditional art forms, philosophies, aesthetic theories, and practices, such as Literati landscape painting, classical garden design, and the Book of Rites, Jennifer Wen Ma fuses them with cutting edge technologies, which invites audiences to immerse into and be part of the art piece.
This latest artwork of Jennifer Wen Ma came to life after over two years of enrichment, which continues its Chinese ink root while at the same time paying tribute to contemporary art. The artist’s unique honeycomb-structured paper sculpture, which utilize laser-cutting technique to mimic ancient Chinese accordion folds, builds an immersive, handscroll-like painting under the roof of the Spectacle with a GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ title.
The sculptural garden in a form of three islands that is inspired by Macau’s geographic composition, has been made to be a site-specific work that integrates seamlessly into the public space of the Spectacle. The three islands together create a reminiscent of a landscape painting that extends wide-open to invite audiences into its vista, welcoming everyone to wander and soak in the ambience of a classic Lingnan style garden.
“Change” remains to be the core message of the art piece – that it offers different look and feel from different perspective, time and audiences. Incorporating the Five Elements mentioned in the Book of Rites that describe the rotation of seasons, the artist depicts the theme with two sets of paper sculptures, themed “Spring and Summer” and “Autumn and Winter”, which alters season by season. The “Spring and Summer” set represents the fresh revival of liveliness with hints of tender greens, pinks and reds; whilst the “Autumn and Winter” set coats the atrium with darker hues with sparkles of silver to mimic the calm, snowy hills during the chilly days.
The islands and the ponds beside them, all embedded with LED panels as their bases, reflect colored beams that change along the dynamics of nature. On top of the paper sculpture garden are three butterfly-shaped flying creatures of metamorphosis hanging in the air, which are inspired by Rorschach image-making and the shape of three Chinese characters, “nothingness” (無), “exhaustive” (窮) and “limit” (盡). These creatures embody the never-ending source of metamorphic content and inspirations, which is to echo the continuous innovation of Chinese culture.
Known as a public space of architectural wonder, the Spectacle is home to infinite possibilities transcending limits of a physical venue that offers a one-of-a-kind art viewing experience different from any ordinary gallery space. The nature of the Spectacle contributes to creating an ever-altering 3D Shan Shui installation, bringing forth the very essence of “metamorphosis” in nature and at the same time highlighting the interactivity of the artwork. Audiences are welcome to walk around the paper sculptures or across the Spectacle to experience the art in different perspectives, and to witness the metamorphosis of the artwork within a day by the change of lights and colors.
A Landscape of Metamorphosis: No End to End marks the second partnership of MGM and Jennifer Wen Ma since Macau’s first mega international art and cultural event “Art Macao” back in 2019. The artwork is now acquired into MGM’s Chairman’s Collection. A Landscape of Metamorphosis: No End to End redefines classical Chinese fine art with contemporary artistic languages, enabling audiences to appreciate the aesthetics of Chinese ink painting in a setting that mimics a Chinese garden. In the future, MGM will continue to present an array of cross-sectorial, innovative exhibitions and performances for Macau locals and tourists which are based upon the aim of passing on Chinese traditional culture. The Company endeavors to give undivided support in strengthening Macau’s positioning of World Centre of Tourism and Leisure, as well as developing the city into a base for exchange and cooperation where Chinese culture is the mainstream while diverse cultures coexist.
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