Group exhibition 'Ghost Islands' at I: project space in Beijing, China

July 11, 2019
Author Echo Gone Wrong

I spotted a ghost island once.

I believe it has been claimed before, and reclaiming land is no easy feat. Technically speaking, it can be a truly grueling act. It might take different measures, and one of them is to employ a dredge. A dredge a floating plant buries its metal claws into the seabed to scramble out sand and rock and mud and weeds. It plunges its pump to gush out thousands of square kilometers of sediment up to the surface. A fresh piece of territory is laid out onto the unsuspecting coral reefs, by relocating valuable materials from great depths.

Sometimes, the islands appear this way in the international waters, floating there as strategic vessels of fortified ecosystems. When spotted, they might turn from the watchful eye back into seclusion, or shape-shift into something less of a threat.

Ghost islands haunt the seas, practicing ambiguity as a tool of power, or a means of survival. They float in the undercurrents, creating and capturing the fluctuating capital on their way. The accumulation bears weight, coming down with an invisible force to crack the sediment apart again.

To haunt, is to reclaim.

The exhibition is curated by Vaida Stepanovaitė (project space Kabinetas). Participating artists are Anastasia Sosunova, Ma Jianfeng, Money Haven, Tomasz Kobialka.

Visuals by Studio Cryo. 

The exhibition opens on July 14th 4 p.m. at I: project space in Beijing, China, and will have a closing event on July 28th to present a new publication.
Ghost Islands is presented as part of an ongoing curatorial residency by Vaida Stepanovaitė at I: project space happening during June July, 2019. The exhibition and residency is kindly supported by Lithuanian Culture Institute and Lithuanian Embassy for China.