「Space Ark 2020_Day 730」
Category: Site-specific Theater/Performance Art
Artist: Tan Tan
Photography: Long Miaoyuan
Assistant: Cai Guojie, Isaak, Celeste
Date: January 22, 2022
Location: Macau Art Garden
Duration: 30 minutes
*Performed at 2022 Macau International Performance Art Festival
On January 23, 2020, a spacecraft named "Space Ark 2020" unexpectedly landed in Wuhan, China. Whether it was extraterrestrial visitors causing disturbance or an ark redeeming Earthlings, was unknown.
January 22, 2022, marked the 730th day since the spacecraft had stayed on Earth, approaching its second anniversary. It landed again, this time in Macau—a city blending Eastern and Western cultures, filled with consumer spectacles. The once-crowded streets, now empty due to the pandemic, revealed the marks of the old world.
This performance transforms the rooftop of the Macau Art Garden into a time machine. Surrounded by the glow of myriad lights, the audience follows the artist circumnavigating the space, reminiscing about the uncertain and vulnerable experiences of the past two years.
After overcoming several obstacles, the artists have been granted permission to stay in Macau for 7 days. Their firsthand experiences of entering and exiting the country, along with their impressions of contemporary Macau, are integrated into the performance. This short "domestic exit" resembles a vacuum zone between East and West, freedom and restriction, and a cosmic black hole between the past and the future.
Performance Documentary Highlights
Can this space ark successfully lead the people here through the challenges and sail into the future?