/ Video Sandbox International Exchange Program II: Ground Without Borders

Ground Without Borders is an international exchange exhibition jointly organised by ALIEN Art Centre and Ox Warehouse in Macao. As one of Macao’s leading non-profit independent art organisations, Ox Warehouse has long supported experimental contemporary practices through exhibitions, talent development, and cross-regional collaborations, fostering sustained dialogue between artists and cities.

The exhibition presents the work of Macao artist and filmmaker Cheok-Mei Lei, connecting Kaohsiung and Macao through moving images. Based between Berlin, Taipei, and Macao, Lei draws on family memories, experiences of migration, and everyday observations. Working with nonfiction film, archives, and field research, she examines the emotional needs and social bonds often overlooked amid urban redevelopment.

Ground Without Borders features two video installations, A Farewell to Julieta and Neighbor. The former documents the demolition of public housing in Macao and residents who continued returning to gather after relocation. The latter turns to the human and non-human lives sharing the city. Rather than portraying Macao through its landmarks, the works reveal how the city is lived through corridors, neighbourhoods, and everyday encounters. Here, “ground” is not merely the space left behind after buildings disappear, but a place where memories remain and new relationships have yet to emerge.

Ground Without Borders

Ground Without Borders presents two video installations by Cheok-Mei Lei: A Farewell to Julieta and Neighbor. Moving away from the city’s iconic landmarks, Lei turns her attention to public housing, neighbourhoods, and everyday life, examining the subtle yet profound connections between people and place.

A Farewell to Julieta documents the demolition of Macao’s first modern public housing estate built during the colonial period. Through children’s conversations, residents’ memories, and elderly residents who continued returning to the site after relocation, the work asks whether emotional and communal needs can be sustained alongside improved living conditions. Neighbor observes how human and non-human lives inhabit, move through, and share urban space, revealing how a city is lived through its often-overlooked everyday moments.

“Ground” is therefore more than the space left behind after a building disappears. It carries memories that have yet to fade, lives that continue to move through it, and relationships waiting to be rebuilt.