Hong Kong multidisciplinary artist Phoebe Hui has been selected by Audemars Piguet Contemporary to present the fifth Audemars Piguet Art Commission, becoming the first artist to realise an Audemars Piguet Art Commission in Asia. 

The Audemars Piguet Art Commission

Every two years, the Audemars Piguet Contemporary selects one artist who is not yet internationally recognised as the winner of the Audemars Piguet Art Commission. The chosen artist is given the chance to amplify their practice through developing a large-scale artwork under the guidance of a renowned independent curator of their region and the Audemars Piguet Contemporary team. 

The fifth Audemars Piguet Art Commission will see Hui present her installation The Moon is Leaving Us in collaboration with Hong Kong-based independent curator Ying Kwok, who in 2017 curated the Hong Kong Pavilion at the the 57th Venice Biennale. 

The Moon is Leaving Us 

Having completed a MFA at UCLA Design Media Art and MA in Fine Art at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, Hui is the recipient of numerous grants and awards including the HKETO Yale-China Art Fellowship and Bloomberg Emerging Artist Award, among others. 

Through her art, Hui aims to understand the complexity and visualise the beauty of scientific innovations. Her work is known to provoke thought on the entangled relationship between traditional craftsmanship and modern technology, which are often seen as polar opposites. 

“Phoebe’s work artistically reinterprets highly technical scientific research into tangible and relatable experiences. She presents installations with a humanistic approach that allows audiences from various backgrounds to connect to complicated scientific ideas. Audemars Piguet Contemporary’s support has enabled Phoebe’s work to progress in meaningful ways. The programme encourages the artist to take risks and be ambitious, knowing that she would be supported with the much needed resources and expertise to push the artist’s work to a whole new level.” 

Ying Kwok, Independent Curator

Traces of Hui’s unique philosophy can be seen in her Audemars Piguet Art Commission installation The Moon is Leaving Us, which is the artist’s interpretation of the Moon’s migration away from Earth. While working with scientists and astronauts during her research process, Hui learned that representations of the Moon vary depending on instruments used and data collected by scientists. Building on the idea that the portrayals of the Moon are subjective, she explores the mutability of nature through The Moon is Leaving Us and interrogates our perceptions of truth in this world.

“The Moon is Leaving Us” by Phoebe Hui will be unveiled at Tai Kwun, Centre for Heritage and Arts on 23 April 2021 for four weeks. The art installation will remain on view during Art Basel Hong Kong, which is currently scheduled to take place from 19 to 23 May 2021.

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