The Communication Wall

Wood blocks, paint, color ropes

0.5x2x2.5m

Growing up in a city next to Macao, I witnessed the discrimination between some of Macao-born Portuguese and Chinese mainlanders. The Portuguese in Macau were often regarded as “foreign invaders” by traditional Chinese mainlanders and there were bad stereotypes hold against them. With such discrimination, it is hard for people to communicate with the ignorance about identities of other people.

A trip to Macao with my mother last year sparked an idea that might alleviate the communication problem. Since my mom does not speak Cantonese and the Macao-born Portuguese does not speak Mandarin, I noticed their communication difficulties. Besides the language, Macao-born Portuguese and Chinese Mainlanders are not friendly because of the history. Perhaps there are some ways to create a tangible contribution. My idea is to provide an opportunity for pure communication, allowing people to step out of their comfort zone. This wall is not only for the Macao-born Portuguese but also can be a solution for the minority in the society.

The palate of different colors, directions of the lines, and the shapes of the blocks all represent different meanings and overall form a new language system. Pushing different blocks means saying different phrases or sentences. In this way, people can communicate without speaking or seeing each other.

The wall is tall enough to hide the two individuals standing behind it, and it can prevent visual or audio discrimination.

When people can communicate with each other without speaking, discriminations can be totally ruled out in a conversation.