A pioneer of video and new media art, Hong Kong artist Ellen Pau explores the intersection of nature, memory and technology. Over the last five years, she has developed a long-term project departing from her interest in AI and based on the flower of the Bauhinian orchid tree—a symbol of resistance in Hong Kong. For #SharjahBiennial16, Pau centred her interactive video installation ‘Terroir’ (2024) on the desert rose, a mineral formation sculpted by the interplay of earth and wind. Paying tribute to the human history of the Old Al Jubail Vegetable Market, she juxtaposed the ecological elements of Sharjah—water, sand, wind, soil—with audio visual technologies that allowed a ‘digital desert rose’ to evolve and respond to its environment. ‘Terroir’ is commissioned by #SharjahArtFoundation with the support of the Hong Kong Arts Development Council. Courtesy of Kiang Malingue Gallery, Hong Kong. Watch this Artist In Focus to learn more about Pau's process. 

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Director - @ward helal  

Camera Operators - @ward helal, Magdi Emad, @shefeek_sha_nk, @alialfadly1  

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Assistant Director - @unnikrishnan.sb