The •Art Space at the Macau Museum of Art (MAM) is replete with atmosphere as it showcases large-scale installations and digital prints for the exhibition “Above Zobeide: Art from Macao at the 60th International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia”.
First showcased in Venice as a concurrent event of the “60th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia” last year, themed “Foreigners Everywhere”, exhibitiongoers in Macau can now admire the various pieces on display until April 30.
The exhibition was curated by Chang Chan and created by artist Wong Weng Cheong, both of whom are locals.
A recent statement from the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) noted that the exhibition draws inspiration from Italian novelist and short story writer Italo Calvino’s (1923-1985) postmodern novel “Invisible Cities”, specifically Zobeide, the primary symbol of desire and disorientation, and serves as the name of the fictional city presented in the exhibition.
To create the dark, apocalyptic city, the statement said that Wong combines his experiences from living in Macau and studying abroad, along with his anxieties. It features “grotesquely herbivorous creatures with elongated legs wandering through the city’s desolate ruins, symbolising the imbalance between human civilisation and its mutations”.
Exhibitiongoers stepping into Zobeide also get involved through hidden cameras spread throughout the venue, where they go from “observers” to “the observed” as they are projected into the world, according to the statement.
The statement added that the exhibition “prompts reflection on the identity of ‘foreigners’ in a globalised context, resonating with the central theme of last year’s Venice Biennale: ‘Foreigners Everywhere’”, where it garnered critical acclaim from international audiences and art critics.
One may visit the free-admission exhibition from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. from Tuesday to Sunday throughout the exhibition period.
Photos: Rui Pastorin
