朱焯信 《五层楼》 Five-storey Mansions 装置作品（参加威尼斯双年展作品） 2011
五、六十年代的澳门，楼房主要以二、三层高的瓦顶砖房为主，随著社会发展、人口增长，七、八十年代开始政府推行新的楼房改建措施，限制新楼房建筑在二十米高之内，即五至六层高，不用安装电梯而减轻建筑而减轻建筑与维修成本，亦没有消防救灾的隐患；故此，由那时期开始，大量二层高的旧屋被改建成这些五、六层高的楼房，澳门街道的面貌亦随之改变。
我的父母都是建筑工人，六十年代开始拜师入行，七十年代开始乘上述建筑风潮，曾兴建及参与的五层楼建设达数百间；而我们一家，虽曾搬迁四次，但每次都住在这些五层楼内，所以爬五、六层楼对於我们来説，一点问题也没有。而我的童年，大部份时间都是在这些五层楼的地盘内玩耍，与帮忙赚取零用钱，因此我对这些五层楼更有不少回忆与难以言明的感情。
每天走在澳门狭窄的街道上，看著这些一间接一间德五层楼房，心里有份说不出的安逸感，澳门在我的心内可像定格了似的，永远停留在那些五层楼的时代。
随著时代改变，更多的高楼大厦拔地而起，不少过去住在五层楼的家庭大都搬进这些高楼大厦，人与人、邻居与邻居之间的关係疏离了，过往放学后与同楼各户的小朋友在大厦天台放风箏、踏单车的情景不再，一座座高二百米(澳门航空管制高度)的庞然大物与二十米高的大片五层楼房為邻，蔚為奇观，而澳门城市面貌每天仍在不断改变，美丑难分。
这件作品由十二张来自全澳各区的五层楼房的照片组成，它们被放置於房中，各自在自动转变，随著这些楼房的转动与灯光的营造，打在白墙上的影子时虚时实，使观众置身於一个虚幻又真实的环境，感受澳门五层楼房的美态。
而现场亦会播放由本地作曲家李慧芬小姐为澳门五层楼房而创作的钢琴音乐，用音符抒发对它们的感情。
In the 50’s and 60’s of the last century, residential buildings in Macau are mostly two to three-storey brick houses with tiled roofs. With social development and population growth, the government implemented new measure on building renovation in the 70’s and 80’s restricting the height of new buildings to be under 20 metres, which is five- to six-storey high. This height limit, which does not require elevators, favoured a lower cost in construction and maintenance and minimized concerns in fire control or crisis rescue. Since then, most two-storey brick houses were rebuilt into these five- to six-storey mansions, which had also changed the appearances and characters of Macau streets.
My parents were both construction workers back since the 60’s and they had participated in constructing hundreds of these five-storey mansions since the 70’s during the rebuilding of houses as mentioned above. My family had moved four times but all houses we lived in were in five-storey mansions and therefore, climbing five to six levels a few times everyday had never been a problem to us. I spent most of my childhood playing or earning some petty money in the construction sites of this kind of mansions and I always have a particular feelings and memories towards these mansions.
Whenever I see these five-story mansions lining the narrow streets of Macau, a feeling of coziness rises and the city at that moment seems to freeze and stay in the days of these five-storey forever.
As times goes by, more and more high-risers were built and many families moved from these five-storey mansions to these new residential buildings. The relationships between people and neighbours are never as closed as before. Days of flying kites and riding bicycles on the podium with the neighbouring kids have long gone. Nowadays, 200-metre buildings are just next to clusters of these 20-metre old mansions forming a visual juxtaposition and the city of Macau keeps on changing in a way that is hardly to be defined as beautiful or ugly.
This artwork is made up of 12 images of different five-storey mansions in Macau. They will be placed in the room changing individually and automatically. The turning images and the effect of lighting will create shadows on the white walls resulting in an illusionary but at the same time realistic environment in which viewers can experience the beauty of these five-storey mansions.
Piano music composed by Macau composer Lei Vai Fan for the five-storey mansions will be played to accompany the artwork.
