在地想象，神话再生
LOCAL IMAGINATION, MYTHIC REINCARNATION
中国有记录神怪精灵、奇山异兽传说的《山海经》。马来西亚是否也流传着独属于自己的神话与传说？
神话未必只存在于古籍，它们流传于口耳相传的故事里，隐匿在大地的褶皱之间，静待被唤醒。它们关乎遥远的过去，也延展着我们的想象——在地的风土、文化与历史，如何塑造出属于我们的奇幻世界？
山峦深处，是否藏着未被记载的精怪？江海之上，是否回荡着古老的神祇之名？从大汉山的幽影到热带雨林的精灵，从渔村流传的海怪故事到部族世代相守的神话，马来西亚的传奇未曾消逝，而是沉睡于山海之间，等待被重新想象。
山川有灵，海洋有魂。那些被遗忘的传说、未曾书写的神话，如今将在艺术的光影中再度苏醒。
以想象为引，以土地为根，摆渡人艺术空间试图探寻散落在民间的传说，召唤沉眠于山海之间的神话记忆，拼贴出属于马来西亚的“山海经”。或许，这片土地的神话从未被载入古籍，却始终流传在我们的记忆与想象之中。
那些隐匿于山海之间的神话，终将再次被讲述。摆渡人艺术空间与岛读书店诚邀您寻回遗落的传说，走进神话新生的世界。
China has the Shan Hai Jing, a record of mythical beings, sacred mountains, and extraordinary creatures. Does Malaysia, too, cradle its own myths and legends?
Myths are not bound to ancient texts. They are carried through voices, woven into the land itself, waiting to be reawakened. They speak of distant pasts yet shape our imagination—how have our landscapes, cultures, and histories forged a mythology of their own?
Do unseen beings dwell in the depths of our mountains? Do echoes of forgotten deities still drift upon the waves? From the shadows of Gunung Tahan to spirits that stir within the rainforest, from sea monsters whispered of in fishing villages to ancestral myths safeguarded across generations—Malaysia’s legends have never vanished. They have only slumbered, awaiting rediscovery.
The mountains hold spirits, and the seas bear souls.
Tales once forgotten, myths never written, will awaken once more in the light of art.
Rooted in the land, guided by imagination, Art Baiduren seeks out scattered fragments of folklore, calling forth the mythic memory that sleeps between mountain and sea, piecing together a Shan Hai Jing of Malaysia. Perhaps these myths were never recorded in ancient texts, yet they have always lived on—passed through stories, dreams, and the landscapes themselves.
The myths hidden between the mountains and seas will soon be told once more.
Art Baiduren and Penang Book Island invite you to rediscover lost legends and step into a world where mythology is reborn.
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