In the summer of 2022, DnA was commissioned for a museum building on Meizhou Island, located off the coast of principal architect Xu Tiantian’s hometown of Putian. Famous as the site which gave birth to the cult of the sea goddess Mazu, the island is an environment where religious pilgrimages and mass tourism, archaic farming techniques, and strict conservation policies co-exist in a fragile balance.

Into the Island follows Xu in her discovery of essential elements, pressure points, and issues on the destabilizing terrain that is the ocean and its delicate ecosystem.

Regulated by the timing of the tides and the rituals of sea cultivations, Meizhou Island is the set where ideas for a diffused life museum and a series of precise interventions were conceived in dialogue with and in service to villagers, fisherfolks, and experts in marine biology. Into the Island is a snapshot of a fluid design process, a story of encounters, a narrative composed through the fragments of an evolving culture and fluctuating landscape.

Into the Island is the first chapter of Groundwork, a three-part film and exhibition series exploring the conceptual development and field research of contemporary architects cultivating alternative modes of engagement with new project sites.

Join us for the opening from 6pm on 7 May.

进岛方向/Into the Island

2024 | 41 min
Digital film

in Chinese (Mandarin) and English, with French and English subtitles

Wednesday – Sunday
11:15, 12:00, 12:45, 1:30, 2:15, 3:00, 3:45, 4:30, 5:15

With additional screenings on Thursdays
6:00, 6:45, 7:30, 8:15

Curator: Francesco Garutti
Curatorial Assistant: Irene Chin
Research: Matthew Kalil
Graphic design: HIT
Design development: Sébastien Larivière, Anh Truong
Films directed by Joshua Frank