Today, we are thrilled to talk to Duyi Han, a Chinese artist and designer. He will design a narrative environment for the  CURATED section 2025 chaired and curated by New Yorker-based artist and writer, Brecht Wright Gander, around the curatorial statement: The Reality of the Virtual.

C: You took part in COLLECTIBLE's Curated section in 2023 as a furniture designer. How do you put on the role of scenographer for the 2025 Curated Section and what did your experience as a participant taught you?

DH: It’s great that I’m already familiar. The 2023 Curated section by Heim + Viladrich, the all-aluminium space, was memorable. But the difference is that as a furniture designer I just need to send in my piece (and might linger at the booth from time to time—imagine a bunch of the participating designers all doing this), while as a scenographer I have to orchestrate how different pieces look together, the whole experience (and still linger at the booth from time to time). The curated section is where people see relatively more experimental things. Is it going to leave an effective impression and inspire?

C: What atmosphere do you aim to create in your scenography for this section? What visual elements or materials will you use to reflect the theme "The Reality of the Virtual"? 

DH: I am in the process and there are many possible paths. In my past work I’ve done physical things that look/feel like rendered and rendered content that looks/feels very real, and things in between. For COLLECTIBLE, would I go for a similar comparison? Would the atmosphere reflect the complicated psychology we have about the virtual and the use of AI at this moment of history? Would it be more about contributing a personal narrative or creating a landscape where people digest the different designer examples of what’s happening? Perhaps also relate to the local aesthetic sensibilities of Brussels? In Brussels I find a very sophisticated taste and a range of curious thinking that’s not easy to find in the rest of the world. The birthplace of Art Nouveau. And remember that COLLECTIBLE takes place in a modernist building in the historic center of the city, not just another art fair tent. An air of both history and progressiveness.

C: How will your design of the space encourage interaction between the works and the audience? What ideas do you wish to explore through this interaction?

DH: Brecht and I had joked about doing the scenography only virtually, so that visitors need to stare at AR content on their phone or iPad at the show, because people are on their phones so much anyways. I don’t think the final scenography will go this way but it was a thought.

C: You took part in COLLECTIBLE's Curated section in 2023 as a furniture designer. How do you put on the role of scenographer for the 2025 Curated Section and what did your experience as a participant taught you?

DH: It’s great that I’m already familiar. The 2023 Curated section by Heim + Viladrich, the all-aluminium space, was memorable. But the difference is that as a furniture designer I just need to send in my piece (and might linger at the booth from time to time—imagine a bunch of the participating designers all doing this), while as a scenographer I have to orchestrate how different pieces look together, the whole experience (and still linger at the booth from time to time). The curated section is where people see relatively more experimental things. Is it going to leave an effective impression and inspire?

C: What atmosphere do you aim to create in your scenography for this section? What visual elements or materials will you use to reflect the theme "The Reality of the Virtual"? 

DH: I am in the process and there are many possible paths. In my past work I’ve done physical things that look/feel like rendered and rendered content that looks/feels very real, and things in between. For COLLECTIBLE, would I go for a similar comparison? Would the atmosphere reflect the complicated psychology we have about the virtual and the use of AI at this moment of history? Would it be more about contributing a personal narrative or creating a landscape where people digest the different designer examples of what’s happening? Perhaps also relate to the local aesthetic sensibilities of Brussels? In Brussels I find a very sophisticated taste and a range of curious thinking that’s not easy to find in the rest of the world. The birthplace of Art Nouveau. And remember that COLLECTIBLE takes place in a modernist building in the historic center of the city, not just another art fair tent. An air of both history and progressiveness.

C: How will your design of the space encourage interaction between the works and the audience? What ideas do you wish to explore through this interaction?

DH: Brecht and I had joked about doing the scenography only virtually, so that visitors need to stare at AR content on their phone or iPad at the show, because people are on their phones so much anyways. I don’t think the final scenography will go this way but it was a thought.