Submarine cables are the hidden lifelines of the internet—physically real, but invisible to most people. They cross oceans, link continents, and come to land at only a few highly controlled locations. Even there, their exact positions are hard to find, with information often incomplete. Is it really here? explores this invisibility and the search for the unknown. An audio recording tells the story of a journey to Lingshui, China, where one of these cables is supposed to reach the mainland. But despite research, official reports, and coordinates, the exact spot cannot be found. The search ends in uncertainty, guesswork, and the realization that some knowledge is always out of reach. This idea is reflected in the installation. The audio plays from a blocked-off corner, separated by barrier tape—a visible but unreachable space. This barrier represents how the cables, which make daily communication possible, remain physically inaccessible. As visitors get closer, the story begins to break apart: clear words fade into noise, until only static remains. The more you try to grasp the information, the more it disappears. Just like the sound in the installation, the internet’s physical structure is only partly visible in our world. It highlights the paradox of being close yet unreachable. The cables exist, they connect us—but the places where they touch the land stay hidden.
