Ayoung Kim | M+ Facade | Video Commission
As creative technologists for the M+, we worked with Korean artist Ayoung Kim on a new video commission Dancer in the Mirror Field (2025) for the M+ Facade. MetaObjects supported the 3D game engine development and design of the Hong Kong street and mall scenes in the work.
Commissioned by M+ and Powerhouse, Sydney, the work is a speculative fiction film depicting an annual competition organised by a delivery service platform. Coordinated by a mysterious entity, the contest aims to identify the individual with the most optimised movements. The film reflects on the contemporary obsession with efficiency and the performative effects it has on bodies in the service of wider technological and economic forces.
In the work, three versions of the protagonist Ernst Mo (an anagram for ‘monster’) compete for the coveted title in locations where past and future seem to intertwine. Following the instructions relayed to them, the three Mos begin in a large structure resembling a high-tech gladiatorial coliseum that is inspired by Hong Kong’s sleek shopping malls. They then have a dramatic chase through the neon-drenched streets of a parallel universe Hong Kong. Throughout the film, various elements from Kim’s previous works reappear alongside digital cameos of real objects in the collections of M+ and Powerhouse, the museums that commissioned the work.
Dancer in the Mirror Field is part of Kim’s acclaimed series of fiction films Delivery Dancer (2022–ongoing). It is inspired by classic 1980s Hong Kong action films and stylish animated shows like Aeon Flux (1991–1995). The kinetic visuals are created using a combination of motion capture, 3D game engines, and AI-generated imagery.
The film will be shown on the M+ Facade every night for three months starting on 3 October 2025 and presented at Powerhouse, Sydney in 2026.
