Installation aims to provoke thought on reclamation works

A 3D sound and art installation, intending to provoke thought about the precarity between land and sea, and invention and destruction, kicked off yesterday at Creative Macau.
“Mountain surrounded by Sea” is a sound and art installation produced by Macau-based artists Crystal W. M. Chan and Benjamin K. Hodges. The two artists split their time between Macau and the U.S.
The exhibition is divided into two parts. On one side of the exhibition venue there are stage flats painted in pale green, a typical domestic house color in Macau. Together with a patterned carpet on the floor, this set recreates an imaginary Macau apartment.
The artists have created a domestic interior space to symbolize the homes that people are trying to build on newly reclaimed land.
The scene hints at the current reclamation that is occurring on the seas in front of Ocean Gardens.
“We’re playing with this idea that Macau is an island but it’s not an island anymore because of these land reclamations and the homes that we are building here,” Chan told the Times.
Chan was quarantined in the city for 14 days after coming back from New York. She said this was also a time for her to reflect on the massive reclamation works that had occurred in Macau, which led to the creation of this artwork and its exhibition.
The first land reclamation project was undertaken by the Portuguese government in 1863. Currently, two-thirds of the land in Macau is reclaimed land and reclamation remains an ongoing project.
“The development in Macau is constant. We’re part of the reason that these developments are happening. I think I want to create this work so people will have the time to contemplate the city we’re were living in, especially now that we’re in this quarantine period,” the artist said.
Hodges also echoed the same sentiments, noting that the reclamation works that are going on also portray local peoples’ aspirations for more land to build residential areas.
“As I’ve lived here more, I realize that a lot of people are really aspiring for homes for the future,” he said.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the room there are styrofoam containers filled with water which have 3D animated seafood projected onto them. Styrofoam containers are used to portray the use of the item by fishermen to keep their catch fresh. These containers are also commonly used in front of seafood restaurants to display fresh seafood that customers can choose.
Thus, a ripple effect is created on the surface of the water to represent the disturbance of the environment during reclamation.
“We have this animated, almost ghostly [3D seafood]. It is a bit of reference to the ecological changes that may happen with the development of Macau,” said Hodges. “Not that we’re anti-development, but we’re talking about the changes and that animals, just like humans, also need to adapt to it.”
Furthermore, the installation also features around two hours of original sound. The soundtrack was created by Chan with the aim of “evoking feelings of longing and desolation.”