離島海：地圖Inter-island Sea: Map

展覽 Exhibition:

二零二二年十一月，「LOVE+: Awakenings」展覽，香港藝術中心，香港｜November 2022, ‘LOVE+: Awakenings’, Hong Kong Art Centre, Hong Kong

為未獲命名的海域繪製的地圖

A map of a sea yet to be named

展覽設置 | Exhibition set up

離島海：地圖 | Inter-island Sea: Map

＜離島海：地圖＞是為香港西南面的一片海域繪製的地圖。此海乃香港三大區域 — 香港、九龍和新界 — 交匯之處，可謂香港的中心，但此海並沒有名字。與此同時，此海域正面臨總面積達1,700公頃的巨型填海工程，勢將摧毁生態。我決定為將此海名為「離島海」，並收集離島海的各類資料，繪製此地圖。

地圖助人探索一個地方，而＜離島海：地圖＞則志在展現離島海錯綜複雜的系統和關聯。收集所得的資料，被分作五大類：

基礎：離島海的水深和水流

邊界：離島海邊界的地質和用地

眾生：離島海上和附近的生物

分區：離島海上人為的區域

連繫：離島海上必須品和人的流動

每個分類化為一幅地圖，輯錄於展覽旁的地圖冊；展覽中央的地圖則將五個分類的地圖重疊，展現離島海整個系統。

人素以陸地和大陸為中心，視海洋和島嶼為邊陲，任意掠奪它們的領域，破壞其生態。同樣的中心/邊陲（主/副）關係，亦見於城市/鄉郊與人/自然。要是將邊陲平等看待，甚或將主/副消磨，人可會對自己與環境的關係重新理解？

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‘Inter-island Sea: Map’ is a series of maps drawn for a sea in Hong Kong’s southwest. Lying at the conjunction of Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories, the three main regions in Hong Kong, the sea is arguably the geographical centre of the city. However, this sea has not had a name, and is loomed by a massive reclamation of artificial islands with a total area of about 1,700 hectares, destroying the existing ecologies that depend on the sea. I decide to name this sea the Inter-island Sea (after the Inter-island Ferry running between several outlying islands) and gather data about this sea to draw a map.

Rather than conventional maps designed for navigation and exploration, ‘Inter-island Sea: Map’ illustrates the intricate correlation in this sea that deserves respect. The data collected are then grouped into 5 categories:

Foundation: current and depth of the sea

Periphery: geology and human settlement around the sea

Being: Living beings in / around the sea

Zoning: Man-made boundaries in the sea

Connection: flow of essentials and human under / through the sea

Each of the 5 categories is distilled into one map, which can be viewed separately in the atlas. The large map on the wall overlays the 5 maps, demonstrating the totality of the Inter-island Sea.

The land has always been the centre while the sea and islands are the peripheries, a subordinate void free for exploitation. The same centre/periphery relationship can be seen in city/rural and human/nature. What insights will we gain by switching the positions of the centre and the periphery, or even erasing these distinctions?