Hong Kong-based sculptor Leelee Chan is embarking on a journey across Europe to explore ancient and future materials after slightly adjusting her travel plans due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Her exploration will take her to Italy, Switzerland, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, and the United Kingdom where she will engage with craftspeople, innovators, and scientists in a bid to understand how natural materials may be substituted by synthetic materials in the future.

Represented by Capsule Shanghai gallery, Chan is the ninth recipient of the BMW Art Journey, a collaboration between Art Basel and BMW since 2015 that was created to recognize and support emerging artists worldwide.

Chan's project, Tokens from Time, will trace material culture from the past, present, and future.

The project has been described as "the evolving relationship between people and materials and touches on contemporary debates surrounding ecological and cultural sustainability".