{"id":44944,"date":"2026-04-06T16:49:07","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T16:49:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/44944\/"},"modified":"2026-04-06T16:49:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T16:49:07","slug":"at-art-basel-this-multimedia-installation-meditated-upon-liminality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/44944\/","title":{"rendered":"At Art Basel, This Multimedia Installation Meditated Upon Liminality"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Installation\"Installation<\/p>\n

Installation view of Perrotin\u2019s booth at Art Basel Hong Kong 2026, featuring Lauren Tsai\u2019s work. (Photo: Mengqi Bao)<\/p>\n

Late last month, nearly 92,000 visitors descended upon Hong Kong to attend Art Basel<\/a>\u2019s latest art fair. As always, the organization\u2019s Hong Kong edition<\/a> gathered some of the most illustrious artists and galleries from Asia and beyond, celebrating the region\u2019s contemporary art<\/a> scene in all its diversity. But amid the fair\u2019s more than 170 presentations, one booth stood out above the rest: Perrotin<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This year, the international gallery showcased works by Mehdi Ghadyanloo, Steph Huang, and, perhaps most notably, Lauren Tsai<\/a>. \u201cThis is my first time collaborating with Perrotin and showing at an art fair,\u201d the multidisciplinary artist remarked in a recent Instagram post<\/a>. If there was any anxiety about her art fair debut, though, Tsai\u2019s installation didn\u2019t betray it. The immersive showcase demonstrated the sheer breadth of her practice, spanning drawings, monumental paintings, stop-motion animations displayed on retro TVs, and a rendition of her installation Poison Little Girl.<\/p>\n

Originally created in 2025, Poison Little Girl was undoubtedly at the heart of Tsai\u2019s exhibition in Hong Kong. The sculpture depicts one of Tsai\u2019s recurring characters, Astrid, perched on the edge of a plain bed, her gray skirt fanned out around her. Even at first glance, it\u2019s clear that something is wrong: the girl\u2019s neck stops abruptly, completely decapitated. Her head is only a short distance away from her body, resting on a pillow with exhausted, sunken eyes. The unsettling scene is completed by an illuminated lily-of-the-valley flower, whose stem Astrid gently cups with both of her hands.<\/p>\n

Like much of Tsai\u2019s work, Poison Little Girl explores psychological and liminal terrains. The installation is part of a larger project titled The Dying World, in which Astrid must grapple with themes of memory, ephemerality, transcendence, loss, and death, all of which have grounded Tsai\u2019s practice for years.<\/p>\n

\u201cAstrid herself can contend with the issues I have around my identity and my body,\u201d Tsai admitted in a 2025 interview with IndieWire<\/a>. \u201cThe feeling of being a mask and the feeling of being a puppet.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s precisely why Astrid remains vacant, a character that isn\u2019t embodied so much as projected upon. Instead of simply being a human, then, this girl is a vessel through which emotions can be visualized or understood, existing in what Perrotin calls an \u201cenvironment shaped by psychological rather than narrative logic.\u201d That sentiment underscored Tsai\u2019s entire presentation, prompting visitors to coax out their own interpretations based on the suite of linked works.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was interested in someone who might have slipped into being forgotten themselves while they were still alive,\u201d Tsai added, \u201cso that\u2019s Astrid. And Astrid is able to go between these two realms, although in my mind the Dying World and the real world are all one place.\u201d<\/p>\n

Aside from this, the Perrotin presentation also experimented with scale. The Dying World encapsulates several media, each of which assume varying dimensions\u2014a fact Tsai hoped to highlight during Art Basel. \u201cI knew I wanted to do something that played with scale,\u201d the artist told Vogue Hong Kong in a video interview<\/a>, \u201cbecause the project is based in stop-motion, which is puppet animation. I wanted to create some version of [Astrid\u2019s] bedroom on a real scale, while also presenting things on a miniature scale.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to Tsai, Perrotin also showcased artwork by Takashi Murakami<\/a>, Mr.<\/a>, Emi Kuraya, Emily Mae Smith, Danielle Orchard, Lee Bae, and Makiko Kudo, among others. To learn more about Perrotin\u2019s booth and the 2026 art fair in Hong Kong, visit the Art Basel website<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n

At the 2026 edition of Art Basel Hong Kong, artist Lauren Tsai showcased a suite of multimedia works exploring liminality, psychology, ephemerality, and loss.
\n\"Installation\"Installation<\/p>\n

Installation view of \u201cThe Dying World\u201d at Hollywood Forever Cemetery, Los Angeles, 2025. (Photo: Joshua White)<\/p>\n

\"\u201cPoison\"\u201cPoison<\/p>\n

\u201cPoison Little Girl,\u201d 2025. Aluminum, hand-blown glass, custom garments, and automotive paint. (Photo: Joshua White)<\/p>\n

\"Detail\"Detail<\/p>\n

Detail of \u201cPoison Little Girl,\u201d 2025. (Photo: Joshua White)<\/p>\n

Hosted by Perrotin, Tsai\u2019s presentation encompassed an immersive installation, monumental paintings, stop-motion animations, and drawings.
\n\"\u201cLast\"\u201cLast<\/p>\n

\u201cLast Youth,\u201d 2026. Oil on canvas. (Photo: Deen Babakhyi)<\/p>\n

\"\u201cNeither\"\u201cNeither<\/p>\n

\u201cNeither home, nor far from it,\u201d 2026. Oil on canvas. (Photo: Deen Babakhyi)<\/p>\n

Lauren Tsai: Instagram<\/a>
\nMy Modern Met granted permission to feature photos by Perrotin.
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