In Sea State 9: PROCLAMATION (drag), (drop), (pour), Charles Lim amalgamates the concrete and physical processes of land reclamation. Taken with drone footage, each video captures a specific method used in land reclamation in Singapore. Reclaimed land constitutes some 30% of Singapore’s total landmass at present, and the country continues to grow at a steady rate. Yet, it is not only these methods presented upon the video screens that make land what it is – without the Presidential proclamation consecrating these new spaces, these spaces remain officially recognised as being sea. In this regard, Lim’s capturing of the formation of these “new lands,” are in fact showing us an alternative form of the “sea,” and reveal the slippages that exist between the physical spaces and records.    

Images courtesy of the Artist