In Decade of the Oceans, Von Ha works with augmented reality technology through the Chroma-Ha 2.0 filter, positioning it in contrast to traditional sculptures that are recognizable within the conventional imaginary. His research brings to light images and histories often silenced by academic discourse, revealing an interest in issues beyond hegemonic narratives.

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The work is activated by the public through scanning a QR code with their mobile phone [or with the tablet available to visitors]. This action “pastes” a landscape of Rio de Janeiro onto the viewer’s device together with the sculptures.

The work consists of a green room [chroma key, a historical resource still used today by mass media and cinema for image substitution and insertion], and three sculptures that reference modernist sculptural practices—such as the use of granite bases—but are made from the accumulation of multiple layers of trash encased in plaster.

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The public experiences the work by activating the filter available via a QR code on their mobile phone; the filters feature images of Rio de Janeiro, more specifically Guanabara Bay and the city’s most polluted beaches. A postcard image of the city—and of Brazil to the world—a landscape composed of nature, beauty, and destruction. The plastered-trash sculptures and the public are thus inserted into this virtual landscape through photos and selfies taken by visitors.