Camy Tam
An exhibition entitled “Connectivities: Living beyond the boundaries – Macau and the Greater Bay Area”, being part of the series of the “17th International Architecture Exhibition, La Biennale di Venezia – Collateral Event from Macau, China”, is being held at the Taipa Houses.
The exhibition is organised by the Macau Museum of Art (MAM) and the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) in conjunction with the Architects Association of Macau (AAM).
According to a statement on the MAM website, the “17th International Architecture Exhibition, La Biennale di Venezia – Exhibits from Macau, China” was opened to the public on May 22 in Venice, presenting the relationship between architecture, land reclamation, collective memory and urban life from multiple perspectives, offering visitors from different parts of the world a picture of the cross-border life in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area (GBA-GHKM), and exploring the infinite possibilities of “Connectivities”.
The statement points out that this year marks the fourth year for local architects to participate in the world-famous event in Venice. The exhibition team comprises the curator, Carlos Marreiros (馬若龍), and four young local architects – Chan Ka Tat (陳嘉達), Che Chi Hong (謝智康), Lao Man Si (劉敏詩) and Ho Ting Fong (何庭芳).
In response to the theme of the Biennale “How will we live together?”, the team showcases four works of different styles: “Connected”(連接通道) by Chan Ka Tat, “Connectivity is from point to point!”(連繫始於點) by Che Chi Hong, “Boundary Verticalisation – the Collision of Two Different Urban Systems” (邊界垂直化– 兩組不同的城市系統碰撞) by Ho Ting Fong, and “Coexistence”(共融) by Lao Man Si, in a bid to give an overview of the future urban landscape of Macau and to reflect on the symbiosis and challenges arising from the in-depth integration of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area, according to the statement.
The exhibition at the “Nostalgic House” in Taipa showcases work by Chan Ka Tat themed “Connected” which starts with the exhibition hall’s entrance to “the Greater Bay Area” and uses mirror platforms and arches made of twisted metal sheets to visually scale the proportion of people as if they are entering the pipeline to move around, the statement points out, adding that “the circular dynamic lights and squares of different colours represent that life is constantly flowing (moving from one point to another, just like the old-fashioned children’s game ‘hopscotch’ [跳飛機]), flying over different places where visitors can see different indoor installations.
“The two panels on the wall are modelled after the shape of Macau’s Golden Lotus sculpture and are displayed in multiple layers with different building materials. It tells the story of Macau’s transformation from a fishing village, represented by the wooden houses, to a Westernised modern city, represented by metal and concrete. The level of Macau architecture especially in these 20 years after [Macau’s return to the motherland in 1999] has developed with a greater variety, gradually reaching world-class standard.”
The statement underlines that “the latest map of the Greater Bay Area is displayed. Chan marked on the map the locations of the main development projects in the ‘9 cities + 2 Special Administrative Regions’ to give visitors a clearer understanding of the development of Macau, the lifestyle and people’s movement in relation to other cities. Caused by the effect of the mirror platform, the golden lotus display board ‘exploded’ like a firework, as if creating another high-speed time tunnel to travel to the future. In a word, Macau is closely linked to the Greater Bay Area.”
Chan is an amateur carpenter born in Macau and graduated from the local University of Saint Joseph (USJ). He obtained his Master of Architecture from Huaqiao University (HQU) in Fujian province. He is currently the manager of Decoração Son Fat Engineering Co. Ltd., an officially registered building contractor.
The exhibition runs until September 24 at the Nostalgic House of the Taipa Houses in Avenida da Praia, Carmo Zone, Taipa. It opens from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily except Mondays (no admittance after 6:30 p.m.). Admission is free.
As part of the government’s COVID-19 epidemic prevention measures, all visitors entering the venue must wear a facemask, have their temperature checked and present a digital health code.
For details, visit http://www.mam.gov.mo/e/exhibition.
Photos: Camy Tam
