Mapping, rotating, modulating and expanding — are they the processes of architecture as sculpting, or sculpture being architectural?

In her second solo presentation at Space of Time Gallery, artist and gallery co-founder Dori Deng has extended her ongoing research into Modernist architecture, urbanisation and industrialisation within the 'Expansion Series' (2020 – present) into the new exhibition Sculpting.

As the title describes, the new body of works in this exhibition suggests the composition of architectural space as an act of sculpting. It is a spatial constructing process as well as a tangible act negotiating with materiality — a logical process that contains sensibilities. Traditionally, the sculpture-making process started from material, which was then translated into structural forms. Modernist architecture in the early 20th century, as a hybrid development period, transitioned from craftsmanship into industrialisation, carrying the sense of crafting into industrial development. Through the making of the artworks, Deng uses her medium as a tool to negotiate and question the tangibility and sensibility within modern industrialisation.

This exhibition is located in the gallery's painted black exhibition hall, featuring only four artworks. The presentation suggests a pure and clinical expression through the three medium of projected light, glass and steel. The two large projected installations distort and manipulate primary geometrical forms; they are independent sculptures made through the act of sculpting in space.

Further exploring geometric and systematic structure, the latest artwork, 'Expansion Series, Work No. 53' (2026), delves deep into modular architectural processing. By compiling 144 quartz glass tubes within the compact space of a 24-centimetre square cube, the artwork delivers an intense viewing experience through its material fragility and systematic intrigue. Through the brittle glass and the embedded LED light tube, the composition is fragile yet strong — the system itself is the strength. Deng's interpretation stems from her understanding of material innovation in Modernist architecture, where the logical and structural system provided the strength to house modern lightweight or minimalist materials. "Systematic process can be intuitive; think logically doesn’t mean emotionless, rationality requires sensibility to judge and made decision,” says the artist. The repetitive process of piling tubes is not as robotic as it seems — decisions about different orientations, the composition of light reflection, all the subtle details involve an intuitive interaction between the artist and the materials. A system is created by humans, intents to works for humans, and thus should be tangible, sensuous, with the humen touch.

At the onset of entering the era of hyper machine learning, Deng's interpretation of the industrialisation that happened a hundred years ago becomes a reference point for us to anchor ourselves into the future.