Taiwanese artist Chang-Ching “Casper” Su presents his solo exhibition A Dream Cast in Dormancy (Even Shadows Glow in the Dark) at Murmuration, an artist-run gallery in Chicago, on view from May 3 to May 24. Features photographs, videos, and sculptural objects, the exhibition investigates large-scale light pollution caused by industrial squid fishing in the Taiwan Strait. At night, fishing boats use green LED lights to lure the squid to their nets, transforming the nearby island environments into spectral nocturnal landscapes bathed in green light pollution.
Set against the backdrop of the so-called “Matsu Aurora”, an eerie green glow frequently visible along the Matsu Islands at night, the exhibition explores the entanglement between artificial lighting technologies, territorial ambition, and ecological vulnerability. Collaborating with the Taiwan Dark-Sky Association, Su conducted field research on Beigan and Daqiu Island, Matsu, focusing on the intense use of green LED floodlights by industrial squid fisheries. His work visualizes the transformation of coastal seascapes, highlighting the far-reaching impacts of nocturnal industrial activity on marine ecosystems.
Su, whose artistic practice examine the dynamic between nature and power, states: “We cannot block the light. In the night sky, all we can do is close our eyes.” During his residency on Matsu, he witnessed how technology and capital silently infiltrate the night, reshaping non-human habitats and exposing the invisible forces of control embedded in these green light. Su invites audiences to reconsider the possibility of coexisting with nature and to recognize the latent systems of domination projected through light. As he warns, “When light is everywhere, darkness exists only in our imagination.”
The exhibition integrates light, sound, and time-based media to create a nonlinear narrative space. Viewers entering the gallery are enveloped in an immersive green atmosphere. Three 8 by 10 film negatives lightboxes, made from direct exposures of the green glow—serve as physical imprints of light pollution across the sea. Additionally, a map of the Strait’s light pollution is assembled from 150 solar-powered LED keychains, symbolizing how ecological harm is normalized and commodified, while also interrogating the retraining of human perception.
Curator Kat Bawden remarks:“Damage from light pollution embodies how interconnected we are as species on this earth, which in itself can be difficult to fully grasp. On the one hand, our interconnectedness is tangible and measurable, documented over decades by scientists. And on the other hand, there is a spiritual component of being part of a web of inter-existence, in which you are one of billions, which contradicts human-centric thinking.”
Over one hundred people attended the opening night, which featured a live audio-visual performance by Chicago-based experimental collective ASTROMETRICS. Their work sampled archival footage from the 1960 Kennedy-Nixon presidential debate over “Quemoy and Matsu,” interweaving sonic memories of East Asian geopolitics with contemporary American social conditions, resulting in an immersive and resonant encounter.
A Dream Cast in Dormancy is presented by Murmuration, with sponsored from the Taipei City Department of Cultural Affairs. The exhibition runs through May 24. A closing performance will feature Vietnamese-Russian interdisciplinary artist Maya Nguyen, whose responds to ecological trauma, spatial perception, and embodied landscapes.
Exhibition Information
Chang-Ching Su: A Dream Cast in Dormancy (Even Shadows Glow in the Dark)
Dates: May 3 – May 24, 2025
Location: MURMURATION, 2846 W North Ave, Chicago, IL 60647
Gallery hours: Saturdays, 2–6 PM; additional times available by appointment
Website: https://www.murmur-murmur.com/chang-ching-su
Artist Bio
Chang-Ching “Casper” Su (b.Taiwan, based in Chicago) is a multidisciplinary artist with a research-based approach. His work explores the nuanced dynamics of power and authority that shape contemporary sociopolitical systems. Su has participated in international exhibitions includes EXPO Chicago, Suwon International Photo Festival, Skövde Art Museum, and Tainan International Photo Festival, also got the residency from Santa Fe Art Institute and CPSLive. He holds a BA in Political Science from National Taiwan University and earned his MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.