A Battle of Beasts is a playful installation made for deTour 2025, where the brick, seen as a symbol of structure, solidity, and repetition, is reimagined through the lens of Dou Shou Qi and Xiangqi, traditional Chinese strategy chess games.

In this work, the game becomes inspiration, positioning culture as a generator of innovation and transforming the brick into a surface of possibility: a canvas where tradition, fantasy, and play converge. Through a breakthrough ceramic printing process, patterns and illustrations inspired by game boards, symbols, and the world of Dou Shou Qi and Xiangqi are digitally printed onto clay bricks, resulting in a playground-like landscape where design becomes cultural storytelling.

The project wants to reflect on the human desire to constantly innovate and evolve. By engaging people through traditional play and the new visual narratives of the bricks, it envisions a cycle where looking back is the way to imagine what comes next.

How can new materials reshape traditions without erasing them?

Where do we find balance between preserving heritage and embracing change?

The game format allows for spontaneous participation, where anyone can learn the simple rules, take a seat, and enter the playground. The tables become a social interface, bridging generations, languages, and cultural backgrounds through a shared gesture: sitting down to play. By incorporating a game as the central activity, we foster emotional connection, surprise, and shared memory.

Special Thanks to:
Organiser: PMQ Hong Kong
Curator: Adonian Chan
Curator at large: Shin Wong
Exhibition Team: deTour & PMQ Hong Kong
Photo: Mathijs Labadie