A collaboration between a digital art pioneer and a Truku artist brings Indigenous cosmology to life through immersive technology.
In a powerful intersection of ancient heritage and cutting-edge digital media, the collaboration between digital art pioneer Shu Lea Cheang and Truku artist Dondon Hounwn has reached a new milestone. Their joint work, titled 'Hagay Dreaming,' recently made its highly anticipated Taiwan debut at the Taipei Performing Arts Center following a successful premiere at London’s Tate Modern. The project represents a significant shift in how contemporary Indigenous artists are utilizing new media to reclaim and redefine their cultural narratives.
Dondon Hounwn, a member of the Truku people, brings a deep focus on ancestral spirits and the 'Hagay'—a term referring to a non-binary spiritual identity within Truku culture. By partnering with Cheang, a veteran of the digital art world known for her experimental and provocative installations, the duo has created a space where traditional rituals and digital environments coexist. This collaboration moves beyond simple representation; it uses interactive elements and performance to invite the audience into a shared dreamscape that challenges conventional boundaries of gender, identity, and technology.
The work arrives at a pivotal moment for the Taiwanese art scene, which is currently undergoing a period of intense self-reflection and transformation. As a new generation of Indigenous artists gains prominence, they are increasingly turning to digital tools to document and evolve their practices. The success of 'Hagay Dreaming' at major international and local venues underscores the growing appetite for work that blends specific cultural knowledge with the universal language of creative technology. For Cheang and Hounwn, the process is as much about the preservation of spirit as it is about the innovation of form, proving that the digital realm can be a fertile ground for ancestral storytelling.
This collaboration demonstrates how digital tools can be used to preserve and evolve Indigenous knowledge rather than just digitizing it. It serves as a blueprint for how creative coders and new media artists can work ethically with traditional cultures to create globally relevant, immersive experiences.
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