After completing undergraduate studies in the humanities, Daphné specialized in Chinese studies, earning Master’s degrees in both History and Art History. She then pursued a PhD at Sorbonne University with a thesis titled “Genesis and development of the first Chinese museums: heritage, scientific and aesthetic issues (1860-1949)”. Her academic journey included exchanges and research trips at the University of Nottingham, National Taiwan University, and Nanjing University, where she deepened her understanding of Chinese cultural history. As a postdoctoral fellow at the RIH, Daphné will examine the complex dynamics of museums and art exhibitions in Chinese society through historical and critical lenses.

Daphné’s research focuses on the sensory dimensions in the history of art appreciation and museum practices. She is currently working on two projects: one investigates how Hong Kong’s art museums might reintegrate multisensory engagement through natural elements or technological innovation, breaking away from the dominance of vision rooted in the Western museum’s space-time tradition. The other examines the evolving relationship with ancient objects and their materiality in China’s archaeological museums. Central to her research is how Chinese art was perceived in a pre-museum multisensory environment and how contemporary museums are, or could be, reimagining these past sensitivities.

"It depends on those who pass
Whether I am a tomb or treasure
Whether I speak or am silent
The choice is yours alone.
Friend, do not enter without desire."
Paul Valery (inscribed on the pediments of the Palais de Chaillot museums)