In a city of constant change, the sense of transience is ever-present. Spaces, buildings, and locales emerge, transform, and disappear. Within this dynamic environment, the act of documenting the city becomes crucial, aiming to observe and capture fleeting moments.

Framing a Future Past explores the layers of Macau’s constructed spaces, featuring the work of two Macau-based architects. As key players in the city’s evolution, architects are challenged to understand the essence of a place, and to confront questions and uncertainties about its future. The visual chronicles presented here were not produced specifically for this exhibition but rather as part of a personal process for both architects, unveiling and discovering the city during a common period of seven years (2018–2024).

Framing a Future Past presents the diversity of Macau, with a special focus on elements that may soon be part of the city’s past. It fosters a dialogue between two different techniques –  photography by Nelson Silva and drawing by João Nuno Marques – framed around a shared subject, space and time.