Client: CEAC, Chinese European Art Center

Overview

The work “The Gift” could be seen in August 2013 on a 6.45 by 15.5 meter LED screen. The LED screen is situated on Yanwu Road above “Fu Wan Bang” shopping mall opposite Xiamen University West Gate and nearby Nanputuo Temple in Xiamen, China.

Goals

Marjan Laaper specializes in large-scale video projections, installations and Public Art Commissions. Simple everyday phenomena are being presented within a quite poetic, sometimes even philosophical framework. General human experiences, human thinking, nature, and the experience of every day life are starting points in her work. Often there is a tension between contradictory subjects and symbols like beauty and danger, the immaterial and the transitory trust and alarm. The work does not give clear answers, but shows recognizable elements that generate questions. In 2013 she received a grant to work in Xiamen for 9 weeks. During her stay she was fascinated by the urban surrounding in Xiamen where big LED screens where situated in the city centre but also by the natural beauty of the mountains where the city was built around. Just like old poets and painters she wanted to bring an ode to nature and the mystery of life itself.

Process

The people of the Chinese European Art Center (CEAC) made contact with the Chinese compagny involved and negotiated about implementing the Art work in public space.

Additional Information

The work: “The Gift” (2013) shows two hands that are filmed from above. The hands are close together as if they were asking for something. After a while a small bird lands into the hands and makes it his residence for a short while. After some time the bird flies away, leaving the hands waiting for the next gift.