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Garden art has a distinctive charm, bringing together the beauty of artistic expression and the surrounding landscape to create an experience in which art and nature become inseparable.
At Art Macao 2019, the international art festival in Macao, “Dragon’s Footprint” emerged as one of the highlights of garden art. The installation was created by internationally acclaimed architect Yansong Ma, founder of MAD Architects.
Just a few months before the installation was unveiled, Yansong Ma had attracted considerable attention for his architectural design of Terminal 3 at Harbin Taiping International Airport in China. The proposed terminal featured a striking snowflake-inspired form, reflecting his approach to architecture and the natural world.
Ma and his team at MAD Architects were invited to create an installation at Wynn Palace, a luxury mixed-use complex hosting the exhibition “Garden of Earthly Delights” as part of Art Macao 2019. The exhibition drew inspiration from, and was named after, the celebrated painting by Renaissance artist Hieronymus Bosch, whose extraordinary and often unsettling imagery has fascinated audiences for centuries.
Many of the artworks in the exhibition explored the concept of “space” through different artistic approaches. Among the participating artists, Ma was the only one to transform the property’s outdoor landscape into a canvas for his artistic imagination.
Emerging from the darkness, the glowing orange footprints of a mythical ancient creature stand out against a backdrop of towering buildings and the lights of the modern city. The sight is truly extraordinary.
In Chinese culture, dragons are regarded as celestial creatures and powerful symbols of good fortune, often associated with imperial authority. Their presence seems particularly fitting in Macao, a destination widely known as Asia’s gambling capital. Anyone familiar with Chinese historical dramas may have noticed how frequently dragon motifs appear on imperial objects, decorations, and royal garments.
To create the installation, the MAD Architects team excavated sections of the landscape and lined the recessed surfaces with the same type of rubber material commonly used in children’s playgrounds.
The mythical dragon left behind two enormous footprints measuring 29.84 × 34.64 metres and 30.66 × 34.37 metres. If its footprints alone are this enormous, one can only imagine the size of the creature itself.
Concealed lighting was also incorporated into the installation, allowing the footprints to flicker after sunset. The effect creates the impression that a gigantic celestial creature has just descended upon the earth, leaving behind scorched ground and traces of smoke and fire, as though the surface were still warm from its arrival.
Wynn Palace has another attraction that adds to the experience: a complimentary cable-car service that carries visitors from the roadside directly into the property.
As shown in the video, Dragon’s Footprint was conceived to be viewed from above. This elevated perspective reveals the scale and composition of the installation in a way that would be difficult to appreciate from ground level.
The experience becomes particularly captivating at night. As the surrounding greenery disappears into the darkness, the glowing orange footprints emerge dramatically against the landscape, framed by high-rise buildings and the illuminated architecture of the modern city.
It is a remarkable moment in which an ancient mythical creature appears to have left its mark on a contemporary urban environment, bringing together mythology, architecture, landscape, and art in a single extraordinary scene.
Watch the installation process of this monumental garden artwork here.
Review of “Garden of Earthly Delights” at Wynn Palace during Art Macao 2019
Story: Tae Art Man
