Pacific Place unveiled Doan, a site-specific multimedia installation by renowned artist Daniel Boyd, as the 2024 edition of Art Basel Hong Kong’s offsite Encounters sector.
Pacific Place transported art enthusiasts, shoppers, and visitors to a realm where idea intertwines with identity 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.
