Hong Kong’s Annual Design Festival deTour 2024

Over 80 Local and Overseas Creative Communities Engaging in Large-scale Installations & Exhibitions, Workshops, and Creative Voice

Powering Inner Growth Through Design

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach Newswire – 29 November 2024 – Presented by PMQ and sponsored by the Cultural and Creative Industries Development Agency (CCIDA), formerly known as Create Hong Kong (CreateHK), deTour design festival will take place from 29^th November to 15^th December 2024 at PMQ, Central. This year, the exhibition has been extended to seventeen days, free of charge, and is open to all design enthusiasts, students, and the public. Through large-scale exhibitions, workshops, guided tours and Creative Voice design forums, deTour 2024 showcases the creative works among the local and international creative communities, exploring the underlying meaning of the connection between design and one’s inner strength!

The Theme of deTour 2024: Having→Being: Designing Inner Worlds
Design has long been seen as an instrument for solving problems. Adonian Chan, Curator of deTour 2024 was inspired by the book To Have or To Be by Erich Fromm, a psychologist. He found that with the advancing production methods and material abundance, design has gradually become a tool to produce desire, and a person’s worth is judged based on their possessions. This change echoes Erich Fromm’s concept of the “mode of having” in his book To Have or To Be. Fromm argues that society frequently judges a person’s worth based on their possessions. Yet he asserts that true value lies not in what we “have” but in who we “are”— the “mode of being”.

In deTour 2024, the Curator and designers will uncover underexplored possibilities in design, emphasising how design enriches one’s inner power. Not only does design present the outlook of an environment or a product, but it is also a catalyst for one’s inner growth, well-being, and creative expression. Through careful consideration and curation, as well as the environment, product, and experience provided in deTour2024, it aims to help people create a space and a tool that reflects their inner true self and provide inspiration for a deeper dialogue and connection.

Starting from the Courtyard:
Opening a Dialogue and Connections with 17 Installations and Exhibitions
deTour2024 exhibits a total of 17 installations from local and overseas designers throughout PMQ. Walking through the entrance tunnel to the courtyard, a feature exhibition of “Air-Scape“, “Capturing Qi (氣) “, and “Passage to the Lake“, from three groups of local and overseas young designers, unveils the path to reflection. Other installations are displayed through the courtyard, Hollywood Garden, and the specific levels in Block A. Every installation is a dialogue to inner growth, allowing us to rethink how design has influenced our lives and environment, including experimental works that explore new possibilities through deTour 2024. In addition, the seventeen-day design festival has 40 workshops and 13 Creative Voice sessions, bringing a series of free exciting experiences to the public.

International Collaboration: Kimchi and Chips —— “REWORLD Type 2“
Founded in 2009 by Seoul-based artists Mimi Son and Elliot Woods, Kimchi and Chips is acclaimed for merging art, technology, and philosophy. Their large-scale installations explore the intersections of light, space, and perception, creating immersive experiences that blur reality and illusion.

“REWORLD Type 2” is an innovative urban screen that constructs images not with traditional LEDs, but by remixing fragments from the surrounding cityscape. Urban screens have become a principal material of the built environment, and are used to communicate ideas, convey ambitions, provide instructions, and contribute to the creation of a city’s aesthetic and mythology. Kimchi and Chips quote Donna J. Haraway, “It matters what stories make worlds, what worlds make stories.” REWORLD is a screen that generates images solely from the city’s existing elements, reimagining and recycling reality into new messages and ideas. This screen operates using more than 1,000 of micro-prisms actuated by precision motors, which selectively refract the surroundings to form new images, showcasing a stunning “reworld”.

Feature Exhibitions:
About Living Attitudes – Balance, Feng Shui, Penjing and Lakes

1. Wich Chau, Match Chen — “A place of Being“
Wich Chau is a Hong Kong designer who adopts an experimental approach to designing furniture, public spaces, and installation art, delving into the potential of urban environments through thought-provoking inquiries. His work “Wave of Growth” was featured in the MoMA-published book “Uneven Growth@2015”. Since 2020, he has tried oil painting, drawing on elements of science fiction, surrealism, and futuristic imagination to provoke contemplation about the universe and existence. Match Chen, co-founder of KaCaMa Design Lab in Hong Kong, has rich experience in sustainable and community-focused design and is dedicated to promoting local craftsmanship and artistic creation. His works, “Flawless Failure” and “Bamboo-Copter Pavilion”, have been showcased in PMQ, the Hong Kong Museum of History, etc.

“A place of Being” is an interactive installation that explores the intricate balance between “Having” and “Losing”, as well as “Balance” and “Imbalance”, through participants’ personal experiences and interactions. At the heart of this installation lies a scale, set against a blue carpet. Participants, in groups of one to three, take turns adding wood to the scale, aiming to maintain a sense of inner calm and equilibrium. If too much wood is piled on or if the centre of gravity shifts, everything on the scale will tip over. The team hopes that this straightforward interactive experience will illuminate abstract yet tangible concepts in life, such as “Inner”, “Outer”, “Accept”, “Reject”, “Balance”, and “Imbalance”. The team anticipates that this experience will encourage participants to reflect on their journey toward “being” and finding balance in their lives.

2. Future Soil X Laurence Lee — “Air-Scape“
Formed in 2023 by Arthur Cheung, Carolyn Tam, and Yvonne Wong, the team explores the relationship between traditional plant cultivation and emerging technologies, combining material exploration and digital fabrication to design bio-receptive structures integrated with plant species. Their project, exhibited at the deTour 2023 – design festival, showcased how lifeforms can influence computational design, offering a fresh perspective on the interaction between nature and the built environment and encouraging us to rethink how we shape our surroundings. Laurence Lee King Man has studied penjing under several masters in Hong Kong since 2000. Now Chairman of the Penjing Association of Hong Kong, he promotes penjing culture. Lee is also a Chinese ink painter and curates art exhibitions. Penjing is a fascinating art form that grows and transforms over time.

“Air-Scape” integrates soilless foam with perforated 3D-printed forms, allowing for customisable vessel shapes that support diverse plant species. This holistic approach bridges traditional penjing with computational design and digital fabrication, offering new geometric possibilities for the art form.

3. Yoojin Chung — “Capturing Qi (氣)“
Yoojin Chung is an interdisciplinary Korean designer whose works encompass a wide array of media, including objects, installations, and speculative research. Following her studies at The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL, she earned her MA in Contextual Design at Design Academy Eindhoven. Yoojin integrates conceptual exploration with innovative design methodologies to reimagine the dynamic interplay between materiality, form, and human experience. Her work challenges conventional notions and encourages fresh perspectives on everyday interactions. She promotes discussions around social, cultural, philosophical, and psychological themes, and creates platforms for critical reflection, and she continues to investigate new avenues in art and design across diverse contexts.

“Capturing Qi (氣) ” offers a satirical critique of the evolving customs surrounding post-modern feng shui, questioning how feng shui influences Asians’ living, landscape and culture. This device “captures” Qi inside transparent capsules, serving as a physical, vision-oriented tool offering a new perspective on controlling success in life with the invisible substance, Qi, to combine the concepts of Eastern and Western feng shui, presenting a unique cultural dialogue and design perspective.

4. Moon Seop Seo — “Passage to the Lake“
Moon Seop Seo is a Korean designer living in Eindhoven, Netherlands, graduating from Design Academy Eindhoven in 2021 with projects such as “Passage to the Lake” and “The Ephemeral Wall”, earning cum laude honours. Shortly after graduation, he established his own design studio, collaborating with various design museums and galleries. He often navigates the intersections of Eastern and Western cultures, philosophies, and aesthetics. He takes pride in his poetic ability to evoke specific atmospheres that convey messages and resonate with audiences. He describes his design concept as: “I would like for my works to spark our imagination and leave exclamation marks in our daily lives.”
“Passage to the Lake” takes inspiration from the soothing effect on the mind of standing by a lake. He aims to honour the essence of living water and harness its potential in urban settings by crafting a spatial experience that allows people to enjoy a moment of relaxation. He invites visitors to witness a droplet falling into a puddle, where it comes to life again, allowing them to experience the calming rhythm of water amidst the hustle and bustle of the city.

Selected Entries: 12 Artworks Selected through Open Recruitment

1. URBAN PROJECTION — “Being Between Inner and Outer“
URBAN PROJECTION is a workgroup founded by Junxiang Zhang and Xiaoxu Zhao, which explores the gap between humanity and the built environment. Moving beyond traditional spatial design, the group focuses on the intangible aspects of life—perception, consciousness, and the unseen forces that shape our reality through text, image, and space to reconstruct a new understanding of our life.

“Being Between Inner and Outer” is a spatial installation. The prototype features a U-shaped wall that delineates both inner and outer spaces. Positioned between these spaces, the wall serves as a spatial metaphor for the self. From the outside, the installation resembles a sculpture. Its polyhedral form presents multiple identities, shifting with each perspective. Within the U-shaped enclosure, an intimate space is created for personal interaction. Between inner and outer space, there exists a quiet place for solitude amidst the surrounding crowd, enhanced by a reflection of greenery. The phrase “Flowers in the mirror, moon in the water” (鏡中花, 水中月) evokes the idea that everything in the world is an illusion. Yet, these illusions—like the reflections in the mirror—may serve as gateways to a deeper, metaphysical realm, leading the audience to reflect upon the interactive relationship between one’s inner self and the outside world.

2. Sandy Choi — “Being Transferred“
Sandy Choi, a Hong Kong graphic designer graduated from London with a degree in Graphic Design from Saint Martin’s School of Art, has been working and active for the past two decades and has garnered numerous local and international awards. He established his own design consultancy, Sandy Choi Associates (now Sandy Eddie Tommy Associates) in 1997. In recent years, in addition to adjudicating various international design competitions, Sandy has also been a part-time lecturer in graphic design at Hong Kong Polytechnic University and HKU Space, dedicated to nurturing the next generation of designers.

As Anaïs Nin, a famous American author, once said, “We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are.” The same can be said about collectables and possessions: “We don’t buy things for what they are. We buy things for what we are.” As a designer, Sandy Choi has been collecting for many years, and over the past five years, he has shared some of these items on Instagram, pairing them with personal reflections. “Being Transferred” displays 33 items from his collection alongside their corresponding Instagram posts, exploring a shift from “having” to “being”—an invitation for viewers to take some of these meanings and ideas with them, integrating them into their own sense of being.

3. Studio Anthony Ko — “Casa Destruct“
Studio Anthony Ko primarily engages in architecture, spatial designs, installations, and community projects, approaching the world with a theoretical lens. Through manifestos, the studio explores the provocative aspects of architecture, experimenting with themes such as place attachment, environmental psychology, and cultural preservation. Recently, Studio Anthony Ko has focused on designing spaces in remote and exilic environments, with a strong emphasis on well-being and emotional connection. The studio’s conceptual approach to embedding meaning in spaces is evident in projects such as “Station by the Sea” (Oku-Noto Triennale), “Disintegration” (SMACH Biennale), Fragile World (Sai Kung Hoi Arts Festival), After Seventeen Days (detour 2022).

“Casa Destruct” replicates the aftermath of a home belonging to anonymous hosts, left in ruins after an unknown catastrophe. The remains, “Casa Destruct”, provoke us to reflect on life in this simulated state of destruction. Does the ghost or being of the home endure, defending the idea that a certain matter lingers (Or retains) or is even revived after the destruction of its physical form… Or is everything lost when the house collapses? This work allows people to think deeply about the state of “being” into a state of “having” and reinterpret the idea of “home”.

4. Ford Cheng, Vinzan Leung — “DIVINE“
Ford Cheng is a promising young spatial artist who graduated from the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts and gained a master’s degree from the University of Hong Kong with a focus on architecture. His keen interest lies in fusing architecture, art, future technologies, and artificial intelligence. Ford believes this integration can result in designs that are not only interactive but also emotionally impactful, making spaces a vital part of people’s lives. His work fosters innovation in spatial art and encourages audiences to imagine what the future of living could look like. Vinzan is an imaginative young spatial artist currently enrolled in the Master of Architecture programme at the University of Hong Kong. She is dedicated to creatively blending architecture with interactive design, seeking ways to seamlessly unite art, technology, and human-centred design. With a passion for mechanical and artificial intelligence applications, Vinzan explores new avenues to enhance user experiences, transforming spaces into emotional expressions rather than merely functional environments.

“DIVINE” features a fundamental framework along with multiple mirrors, each representing a unique aspect of the self. The installation’s movement varies in speed based on the distance between viewers and the sensors. As viewers draw near, their reflections engage in a dialogue with their own identities. The shape of the installation shifts dynamically with audience participation, celebrating the joy of “being”. Each audience’s interactive experience is unique. It is hoped that this experience inspires viewers to contemplate the difference between “having” and “being”, ultimately leading to a redefined understanding of life’s meaning.

5. JONO Craftspace — “Hz Lab“
JONO Craftspace is a design studio founded by designers Paul Chung and Dino Cheung in 2019, with the concept of “A Space for CRAFTING and Crafting SPACE”. Initially established as a woodworking workshop, it serves as a platform to explore design ideas and create experimental prototypes, encompassing everything from small-scale woodwork to architectural explorations.

“Hz Lab” is an experimental work that reminds us that the essence of music is found not in the instruments we own but in the moments we share. By embracing the concept of “being” rather than “having”, we open ourselves to a realm where creativity thrives, and connections deepen. This artistic exploration allows us to rediscover the transformative power of music and its profound impact on our lives. In a world that can feel increasingly fragmented, initiatives like “Hz Lab” inspire us to prioritise connection and creativity, fostering a sense of belonging and unity through sound. Ultimately, this project transforms our perception of music and our relationships, creating lasting memories that resonate far beyond the notes played.

6. Naonori Yago — “Imitative Behavior: In the Footsteps of My Daughters“
Naonori Yago, born in Shizuoka in 1986, graduated from Musashino Art University with a degree in Visual Communication Design in 2008. He joined Hakuhodo in 2009 and has been affiliated with SIX since 2014. His notable awards include the Tokyo ADC, JAGDA New Designer Award, D&AD, NY ADC, and ONE SHOW.

“Imitative Behavior: In the Footsteps of My Daughters” is a collaborative series from Naonori Yago and his daughter. They have always been creating drawings and paintings since his daughter was three years old. In this exhibition, Naonori Yago chooses some of his daughter’s drawings, scans them, and then traces her lines with dots on the computer. These works showcase the changes of the strength of her arm movements, resulting in lines that can be faint or bold. Through graphic designs, he tries to capture and express these features of the unexpected lines. To Naonori Yago, this experience has been incredibly enriching for him as a creator. While many artists draw inspiration from the past—histories, movements, or previous creators—he finds himself inspired by the future through his daughter’s creations.

7. Island Works — “ISLAND LIGHTS“
Co-founded by Chi and Leroy, Island Works is a collaborative initiative, stemming from their shared fascination with Hong Kong’s islands. Island Works aims to document and archive these islands, ultimately creating a digital library dedicated to them. Through on-site visits, 3D scanning and photography, the project seeks to capture and preserve the essence of each island, transforming these elements into an engaging public platform. Supported by the Design Trust seed grant, Chi and Leroy are preparing for a public launch, fostering a connection between their creative vision and the natural landscapes that inspire them.

Islands stir our natural curiosity to explore the unknown. In ancient times, our ancestors embarked on daring expeditions to reach these isolated lands, investing immense effort into charting maps, building ships, and constructing bridges to distant shores. Various forms of design and construction have not only reduced the distances between islands but, more importantly, created bridges of communication that connect us emotionally. Design facilitates connection. “ISLAND LIGHTS” highlights the approximately 200 islands of Hong Kong, comprising acrylic panels and each printed with point cloud data of an island to create an interactive archive installation reminiscent of a laboratory shelf. Through photographs and 3D scanning, they documented unique features such as striking rock formations and varied terrain. This work takes an archaeological and archivist approach to exploring the islands’ past, while also gesturing towards a speculative future through its digitised and technological aesthetics. This continuity between preservation and innovation reimagines how thoughtful design interventions might shape the islands’ evolving roles in the region—and, in turn, our lives.

8. Ng Chak Lam — “The Club“
Chaklam Ng is a sound artist and inventor of musical instruments based in Hong Kong, with over 15 years of experience in design. He is the founder of the sound design collective Oblik Soundwork, exploring the intersection of sound, engineering, and interactive design. His recent work, “Pause Rec Play 2.0”, is an interactive sound installation that premiered at Clockenflap 2023. Chaklam’s projects often emphasise community engagement, and his public installations have been showcased at prominent venues such as K11 Musea, PMQ, and Central Market.

“The Club” is an arcade-style pinball machine designed for up to four players. During gameplay, the pinball collides with various bumpers, generating a unique and dynamically evolving rhythmic pattern that varies with each round. To capture these one-of-a-kind sonic byproducts, the design utilises the kinetic interactions of the pinball to trigger a library of pre-recorded musical samples, such as drum hits, which are seamlessly integrated and looped within a digital turntable interface. This way, the seemingly random and unpredictable movement of the pinball transforms into a novel and engaging musical composition, with each machine featuring its own distinct set of sound samples to enhance the uniqueness of the experience. “The Club” effectively merges the excitement of arcade gameplay with the creative expression of music, allowing players to move beyond traditional gaming and engage in authentic musical creation.

9. New Common — “The People’s Pavilion“
New Common is formed by a collective of alumni from the Bartlett School of Architecture at University College London. Beyond their shared educational and professional background in architecture, they are deeply connected by a mutual passion for documenting architecture through diverse mediums—ranging from spatial design and visual communication to game design and interactive experiences. This open call of deTour 2024 has provided them with the opportunity to reunite and explore the possibilities of design together.

“The People Pavilion” is designed as a space for self-discovery, reflection, and acceptance. Through a dynamic use of colours, each representing participants’ levels of satisfaction or “flavours” in different areas of life, the pavilion creates a vibrant metaphor for emotional complexity. These colours, interacting with mirrors and lighting, form a layered landscape, illustrating that emotional well-being is about finding balance across all feelings rather than prioritising any single one. Promoting emotional authenticity, the pavilion encourages visitors to explore and express their full range of emotions, even in moments of bitterness or disappointment. This collective installation captures participants’ internal thoughts through playful interaction, creating shared memories for the community. It showcases how a pavilion can act as both a reflection of the surrounding social and cultural environment, as well as a space for gathering and dialogue. By transforming individual emotions into a visual narrative, this work seeks to revolutionise the way communities express and strengthen their bonds by contributing their feelings to the evolving space.

10. half AND half Studio — “trans(RE)SONANCE“
half AND half Studio is an architecture and design studio based in Hong Kong, comprising Charles Kwan, Henry Au, and Aurora Wong as the project team. It offers a wide range of services that encompass innovative and integrative architectural design, spatial planning, interior design, and art installations.

“trans(RE)SONANCE” presents an interactive experience that requires the active participation of the visitors. Visitors have to control the movement intensity of the connected ropes of the light-sensitive device through a flashlight in a quiet environment, achieving a design that is technically simple yet visually effective. It brings a special sensory experience and lets visitors think deeply about the relationship between actuality and potentiality.

11. Chang Hoi Wood & Tang Chi Tat & Li Hong Ting — “Unfinished Project“
Chang Hoi-wood, Tang Chi Tat, and Li Hong Ting are Hong Kong creators who have professional background and creative experience in architecture, design, and philosophy respectively. Chang Hoi-wood studied Master of Architecture at The Chinese University of Hong Kong, dedicated to coordinating place-making and arts technology projects; Li Hong Ting is a co-founder of the philosophy-promoting group Corrupt The Youth, studied Design at Hong Kong Polytechnic University and Philosophy at the Chinese University of Hong Kong; and Tang Chi Tat is a designer passionate about landscape and exhibition design, with a degree in Environment and Interior Design and recently completed his Master of Landscape Architecture (MLA).

“Unfinished Project” seeks to explore the mutual influence between humans and objects. Things can shape our identities, and in turn, we can shape the things around us. Active users are creators; they reshape objects, integrating them into their identities. A pen, for instance, only exists as a pen when it is used to write; without that action, it is merely an object. This reveals how the unfinishedness of individuals and objects is intricately connected.

12. Victoria Dong — “What if I had one more chance?“
Victoria Dong is a pioneering interdisciplinary designer who blends the thinking and design principles of both architecture and contemporary textiles. By exploring the intersection of material and space, she employs textile techniques to push design boundaries, championing inclusivity and creativity in all her projects. Through the fusion of architectural principles and textile art, her innovative designs establish a sense of unity between time and place, reflecting the fluid and multi-dimensional nature of identity. Currently based at Heatherwick Studio in London, she showcased her work at the Alveston Gallery in London, Royal Birmingham Society of Artists for the Prized Exhibition 2022 and created installations for the Hong Kong Museum of Art and K11 Art Mall.

“What if I had one more chance?” uses the pinball machine as a metaphor, encouraging people to rediscover their authentic selves through play. It explores the question: How do “I” become “myself”? In this interactive experience, players are invited to imagine themselves as the ball, embarking on a journey filled with twists, turns, and obstacles. The racecourse, representing a space for ongoing self-reflection and inner exploration, is fully customisable—players can add or remove objects along the path. After each round, new insights may emerge, inspiring changes to the course and sparking further creativity. In this analogy, the ball symbolises one’s life, while the racecourse represents our life’s journey. The obstacles reflect the possessions we accumulate. Through playful engagement, we can embrace both our personal journey and the elements that shape it.

A Whole New Parent-child Programme of deTour 2024 — “deTour Kids”
To raise public awareness of the inspiration brought by design and creativity to a child’s development, deTour partnered with PMQ Seed and Creativekids launched a whole new parent-child programme, “deTour Kids”, includes “deTour Kids’ Morning tour” and “Family Crest Workshop”.

“deTour Kids’ Morning tour” through interactive tours and engaging mini-games, introducing kids and parents to some selected works from deTour 2024 in an easy-to-understand way.

In addition to guided tours, it also provides a parent-child design experience to create the unique “family crest”. Naonori Yago, the Japanese designer of the exhibition “Imitative Behavior: In the Footsteps of My Daughters” and his daughter will participate as guests in one public session on 30 Nov, encouraging parents and children to design together, gaining inspiration from each other!

Workshops and Creative Voice

Not only is deTour 2024 design festival showcases large-scale installations and exhibitions, but it also includes a variety of workshops, such as enamel painting, a unique small-scale coffee ground sculpture, accessory mould design, incense, collagraph printing, and planting.

Additionally, participants will have the opportunity to connect with international and local designers and cross-disciplinary industry professionals through Creative Voice, listening to their insights and understanding more about the connection between design and psychology, feng shui, nature, music, and more.

All activities can be registered online, inviting the public to explore the unlimited possibilities of design together.

Guided Tours X Diverse Tour Guides
Various guided tours will be held during deTour 2024 such as, the Curator, Adonian Chan, and co-creators, Anthony Ko, Victoria Dong and Ng Chak Lam. Some designers and creators from different professions such as Kit Chan, the author of “Hong Kong Knowhere”, Corrupt The Youth, and Pan Tang, the founder of Midway, will become the tour guides. Through different perspectives and horizons, they bring visitors to explore the highlights in the exhibition and understand the behind stories and inspiration.

Register to participate in the public programmes of deTour 2024. Attendees who complete the activities will have a chance to receive exclusive deTour 2024 souvenirs.

For more information about deTour 2024 design festival and public programmes, please stay tuned for our social media updates, and visit the website: https://detour.hk/2024

deTour 2024 – design festival
Date: 29th November 2024 – 15th December 2024
Opening Hours: 11:00 am – 8:00 pm
Venue: PMQ, 35 Aberdeen Street, Central, Hong Kong
Admission: Free Entry
Website: https://detour.hk/2024

Hashtag: #deTour2024

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.