“The Disappearing Harbor: Between Time, Space and Memory” – The Port and the Image II, Exhibition

Harbors, as multi-faceted places concentrating trade, transportation and social life, have shaped the development of many cities around the world. Throughout their history, they have constantly evolved under the influence of hydroecological transformations, shifting power balances, economic relations and technological changes. Today, globalization is reshaping the urbanisation of port cities, as harbors are being relocated and assigned new functions for leisure and entertainment. 

The exhibition “The Port and the Image II” seeks to explore this shift in the development of port cities. The “Disappearing Harbor” is a metaphor for the relationship between modernity and the traditional heritage of the port, on its architectural, spatial, ecological, social and cultural aspects. This second edition of “The Port and the Image” includes works on inland port cities, as the first edition focused on port cities in the traditional sense such as Ningbo, Guangzhou, Shanghai, and Dalian. 

Seven bodies of works from Chinese and Japanese artists, specially commissioned for this exhibition, are presented. Artists explore the different meanings of the “Disappearing Harbor” and its complex influence on cities, communities and individuals: visual representations of the emotional connection between Qingdao and a family from the Jiaodong Peninsula over several generations; the relationship between Yichang spirit and the Chinese society, politics, and culture; the relationship between the environment and the everyday life of local residents at Chongqing’s Chaotianmen Dock; and the clash between local culture and personal experience at Fuzhou’s Mawei Port. 

They also present the histories and modernities of port cities with visual accounts of historical events that took place at the Port of Yokohama in Japan (this section will be presented at “The Port and the Image III” in 2021), and of the evolution of the entertainment industry in Tianjin, a port city deeply influenced by harbor culture. Artists also present the potential of harbors in the era of high technology and artificial intelligence, with accounts of the associations between the intelligent harbor of Shanghai’s Yangshan Port and a modularized world.

In this exhibition, historical and modern narratives, as well as creative practices that focus on the “port” as a unique space, come together to present the artists’ look on the “Disappearing Harbor”. Text / Gwenaëlle Brandelet, edited by Jérémie Descamps