Hong Kong – Pacific Place is transporting art enthusiasts, shoppers and visitors to a realm where idea intertwines with identity from today with the launch of Doan, a compelling new multimedia installation from internationally renowned First Nations Australian artist Daniel Boyd.
As a mesmerising centrepiece and the sole offsite project of the 2024 edition of Art Basel Hong Kong’s Encounters sector, Doan transcends traditional boundaries and invites audiences to embark on an exploration of individual and societal narratives from 21 March to 7 April at Park Court.
It is presented as part of Swire Properties’ Arts Month 2024 programme.
“We are very proud to host the extraordinary art installation, Doan, at Pacific Place, as we strive to bring together the community through authentic art experiences, by making art more accessible and continuing to foster artistic and cultural dialogue in Hong Kong ,” said Wing Chiu, General Manager of Pacific Place.
“Being selected again as the only offsite location for Art Basel Hong Kong’s Encounters sector this year is a true honour, and we’re excited to showcase the highly-acclaimed work of Daniel Boyd and immerse our community in its inspirational experience.”
“Encounters is curated to ignite curiosity, provoke contemplation, and foster unexpected connections,” said Alexie Glass-Kantor, curator of Encounters at Art Basel Hong Kong.
“Daniel Boyd’s Doan embodies these qualities perfectly, challenging our notions of past, present, and future, and inviting us to reconsider how we view and interpret the world around us.
“Pacific Place provides the perfect backdrop for this dynamic encounter where art and community converge, offering a space for shared reflection and dialogue.”
With Doan, Boyd presents an immersive experience that defies convention and invites viewers to reconsider the individual and collective ways we view an ever-evolving idea of past, present, and future.
Doan comprises three synergistic elements that create a captivating sensory experience: a moving image work, mirrored floor, and window treatments. Each element plays with light and form to explore themes of identity, memory, perception, and history.
Covering the floor in a perforated second skin, a mirrored stage reveals and reflects fragmented architecture and the layered histories of the space we occupy.
Boyd uses a similar method to transform the surface of the mall’s panoramic window panes into a field of oculi. In the moving image work, points of light dance across the screen, evoking visions of electro-magnetic radiation, elements, or dark matter. Each dot is a lens that presents a distinct point of knowledge, experience, or perspective.
As visitors navigate the installation, they will encounter reflections of space and points of light forming otherworldly constellations.
The title “Doan” translates to “darkness” in the Yugambeh language of the Aboriginal Australian people of south-east Queensland, inviting contemplation and collective discussion on individual and societal experiences of living.
Doan, this year’s sole offsite project presented as part of Art Basel Hong Kong’s Encounters sector, is presented by esteemed Asian and Australian galleries Kukje Gallery (Seoul, Busan) and STATION (Melbourne, Sydney), respectively, and supported by Swire Properties, Art Basel’s Official Partner of offsite Encounters.
Swire Properties, in its ongoing commitment to fostering the arts and cultural scene in Hong Kong, is proud to further strengthen its long-term partnership with Art Basel Hong Kong through visionary installations like this one.
A multidisciplinary artist, Daniel Boyd draws inspiration from his rich cultural heritage rooted in North Queensland and Vanuatu. Since his inaugural exhibition in 2005, he has captivated audiences worldwide with his thought-provoking creations that bridge the realms of art, history, and personal identity, becoming the first Indigenous Australian to win the Bulgari Art Award in 2014.
Pacific Place invites the public to discover revelations within Doan‘s illuminating environments at Park Court from 21 March to 7 April.
About Pacific Place
Located in the heart of Admiralty, Pacific Place is the destination for exceptional service and unique experiences. As a pioneer of innovative retail concepts in Hong Kong, Pacific Place continues to transform the retail scene by delighting visitors with an array of curated experiences through diversified offerings. Since its inception in 1988, Pacific Place has established itself as Hong Kong’s premier lifestyle hub, a mixed-use development that continues to evolve and grow as the ultimate destination to shop, dine, work, stay, relax and play. It houses one of Hong Kong’s largest collections of luxury brands and diverse dining offerings, making every visit a memorable one. In addition to being a prime transportation hub, Pacific Place is home to three Grade-A office towers, 268 serviced apartments, and four five-star hotels: The Conrad, Island Shangri-La, JW Marriott and The Upper House.
About Swire Properties
Swire Properties develops and manages commercial, retail, hotel, and residential properties, with a particular focus on mixed-use developments in prime locations at major mass transportation intersections. Swire Properties is listed on the Main Board of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong and its investment portfolio in Hong Kong comprises Taikoo Place, Pacific Place, Cityplaza, Citygate Outlets. The Company’s completed portfolio in Hong Kong comprises approximately 16.5 million sq ft (approximately 1.54 million sqm) of space.
In the Chinese Mainland, Swire Properties has six completed mixed-use developments in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chengdu. They include Taikoo Li Sanlitun and INDIGO in Beijing, HKRI Taikoo Hui and Taikoo Li Qiantan in Shanghai, Taikoo Hui Guangzhou and Taikoo Li Chengdu. INDIGO Phase Two in Beijing, Taikoo Li Xi’an, two new, mixed-use projects in Shanghai and a new retail project in Sanya are currently under development. The Company’s completed portfolio in the Chinese Mainland comprises approximately 14.1 million sq ft (approximately 1.31 million sqm) of space.
In addition to Hong Kong and the Chinese Mainland, the Company has investments in the United States, Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand.
Visit Swire Properties’ website at www.swireproperties.com
About Daniel Boyd
Daniel Boyd is an internationally renowned artist whose practice draws on his heritage as a Kudjla/Gangalu man from North Queensland and North Pentecost Island in Vanuatu.
Boyd has been exhibiting nationally and internationally since 2005. Significantly, Boyd was the first Indigenous Australian to win the prestigious Bulgari Art Award, in 2014. He has participated in major biennales and exhibitions, including: All the World’s Futures, the 56th Venice Biennale (2015), curated by Okwui Enwezor; The future is already here – it’s just not evenly distributed, 20th Biennale of Sydney (2016); Mondialité, curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist & Asad Raza at the Boghossian Foundation, Villa Empain, Brussels (2017); Defying Empire: National Indigenous Art Triennial, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra (2017); and Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art: Divided Worlds, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide (2018). His major survey exhibition Treasure Island opened at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, in 2022, and his exhibition RAINBOW SERPENT (VERSION) opened at Berlin’s Gropius Bau to great critical and popular acclaim in 2023, marking the artist’s most comprehensive solo show in Europe to date.
In his practice Boyd reinterprets artistic and archival material across art, science, history, and geography. His work acknowledges the multitude of collective, cultural and personal memories at the core of historical imagery.
Boyd is represented by Kukje Gallery and STATION.
About Art Basel
Founded in 1970 by gallerists from Basel, Art Basel today stages the world’s premier art shows for Modern and contemporary art, sited in Basel, Miami Beach, Hong Kong, and Paris. Defined by its host city and region, each show is unique, which is reflected in its participating galleries, artworks presented, and the content of parallel programming produced in collaboration with local institutions for each edition. Art Basel’s engagement has expanded beyond art fairs through new digital platforms and initiatives such as the Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report. Art Basel’s Global Media Partner is The Financial Times. For further information, please visit artbasel.com.
