design festival detour 2024 explores inner worlds with interactive exhibits

HONG-KONG’S ANNUAL DESIGN FESTIVAL RETURNS AT PMQ

deTour has become Hong Kong’s most anticipated annual design festival, fostering interdisciplinary collaborations that transform visionary ideas into practical design practices. Promoting the metropole’s design power, the event serves as a platform for both local and international talent. As Hong Kong’s design festival deTour 2024 challenges ‘having’ vs ‘being’ with interactive installations, PMQ provides a thriving hub for creative entrepreneurs and designers to connect and share resources, offering them the space to present their work to diverse audiences. Together they have played a pivotal role in elevating design literacy across Hong Kong, inspiring innovative solutions, cultivating talent, and increasing public engagement with the creative design installations.

deTour 2024 returns to Hong Kong with ‘Having → Being: Designing Inner Worlds’ | all images courtesy of deTour 2024

DETOUR 2024 EXPLORES INNER WORLDS THROUGH DESIGN

From 29 November to 15 December, deTour 2024 returns with the theme ‘Having → Being: Designing Inner Worlds,’ providing a diverse program that invites visitors to reflect on possession and existence. The festival will feature over 40 workshops, 17 installations, 13 Creative Voice sessions, and more than 100 guided tours, offering a deep dive into how design can enrich inner strength and encourage meaningful personal reflections. By exploring both interactive art and philosophical themes, deTour 2024 continues its tradition of merging creative spaces with introspection, positioning design as a vehicle for both self-awareness and personal growth.

curator Adonian Chan

One of the festival’s highlights is the ‘International Collaboration’, featuring ‘REWORLD Type 2’ – an installation by the Seoul-based studio Kimchi and Chips that generates images by remixing fragments from the surrounding cityscape. This urban screen operates using more than 1,000 of micro-prisms actuated by precision motors, which selectively refract the surroundings to form new images.

‘REWORLD Type 2,’ an installation by the Seoul-based studio Kimchi and Chips

IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCES AND GLOBAL COLLABORATIONS IN DESIGN

Curated by Adonian Chan and led by Shin Wong, deTour 2024 presents four featured exhibitions – ‘A Place of Being’ by Wich Chau and Match Chen, ‘Air-Scape,’ a collaboration between Future Soil and Laurence Lee, ‘Capturing Qi (氣)’ by Yoojin Chung and ‘Passage to the Lake’ by Moon Seop Seo. In each installation design becomes a medium to explore the tension between balance and imbalance, the revitalization of traditional art forms, and the invisible forces that shape our surroundings.

‘Air-Scape’ by Future Soil X Laurence Lee

‘A Place of Being’ by Wich Chau and Match Chen

Additionally, one of the standout installations of the 17 entries at deTour 2024 is ‘Casa Destruct’ by Studio Anthony Ko, addressing the fragility of the physical home and the emotional bonds we form with it. By reconstructing the ruins of a house, the artist explores the tension between the transient nature of possessions (‘having’) and the enduring essence of ‘being.’ The installation challenges visitors to consider whether the true spirit of a home can survive its physical destruction, prompting reflections on the emotional and psychological impacts of loss and catastrophe.

‘Casa Destruct’ by Studio Anthony Ko

Another highlight is ‘Being Between Inner and Outer’ by Urban Projection. This immersive spatial installation features an U-shaped wall that symbolizes the metaphorical divide between the inner and outer self. Its polyhedral form shifts perspectives and invites visitors to engage with the illusionary nature of reality. The enclosed space provides a moment of quiet introspection, allowing visitors to review their place in the world while being surrounded by the outside chaos.

‘Being Between Inner and Outer’ by Urban Projection

Lastly, Victoria Dong’s ‘What if I had one more chance?’ offers an interactive experience that blends playful engagement with deep self-reflection, exploring how we become our authentic selves. Using a pinball machine as a metaphor, participants navigate a customizable racecourse filled with twists, turns, and obstacles. The ball symbolizes one’s way of ‘being,’ while the obstacles represent the possessions we accumulate, aligning with the concept of ‘having.’ Through this journey, visitors are encouraged to reflect on how both ‘having’ and ‘being’ shape their life’s path, revealing new insights and sparking creativity.