Be sure not to miss the exhibition;
Japanese Poster Artist
Cherry Blossom & Asceticism
14.10.14 – 30.03.15 (close tue)
10:00 – 20:00
@
Ground Floor of d-mart, HKDI and IVE
3 King Ling Road, Tseung Kwan O,
New Territories, Hong Kong
Archives for the month of: January, 2015
DIA130mm, China
zig zag zig zag ziggy zaggy zig zag zig zag
W370xH320mm, China
Once upon a time, the princess of the Dragon King decided to sneak out of the palace in disguised as a 3 legged toad. She left the Dragon Lake and hopped along the stream, in the wood a large python was thinking a toad would make a good lunch. Luckily this was spotted by the young Liu Hau who was collecting logs for fire, Liu rescued the toad just as the python was about to make his attack. The princes was moved and left him a magic dragon pearl. After returning to the palace, the princess found herself in love with Liu so she sneaked out as a toad to look for him. One day, Liu came by the Dragon Lake for a drink of water and saw a string of coins, he looked around for the person who have left it behind but there were no one around, though poor Liu didnt keep it for himself. As he started to head home, the string of coins started to ring. Little did he know that the princess toad was holding the other end of the string in the lake, she was hoping to attract his attention with the coins. While he was examining the ringing coins, the python had returned to make his revenge and attack Liu from behind, out of desperation the toad thrown herself in between the two to protect Liu. With the distraction, Liu managed to picked up the axe he used for chopping woods and split the python in half. He was grateful for the little toad and started to play with it with string of coins, Liu said, “it would be great if you are a young girl, then we can get married and play together all the time.”. The toad hopped behind him, Liu felt the string got a stronger pull, turning around he found a beautiful girl standing behind him. Liu was shocked, “where is my little toad and who are you?” The girl told her the whole story and Liu was moved and the two lived happily ever after.
W510xH420mm, China
In the center of the du dou (traditional Chinese under garment) is an embroidery of the Goddess of Child Delivery, the Taoist goddess who is in charge of fertility and child bearing. The young wives would worship the goddess by offering sweet and fruits in the temple, a “cim” stick would be drawn, a lucky cim would meant the goddess has granted the woman’s wish of having a child, a small jacket would then be put on the child figurine which the goddess is holding. After the child is born, the mother would return to thank the goddess with a feast of offering.
W120xH410mm, China
At the hands of the master puppeteer, under the light a piece of leather would come to life so vividly that somethings even actor and actress can’t fill their place.
This shadow puppet is a female warrior, Dong Yue E, one of the warriors of the Yang family. The wife of the third son, she is known for her skill in archery and her arrow would never miss a thing.
DIA200mm, India
Looking at the beads, the strings of beads, how they are placed. Sometimes I can see the rhythm of music, would this be the original musical scores?
L250xH130xD60mm, China
A golden lacquered wood carving of the blessed symbols.
Flower – Wealth
Pomegranate (right) – Fertility
Books (behind flower) – Intellect
Painting (behind books) – Scholarly
Gu Qin, musical instrument (right of flower) – Peacefulness
DIA100xH300mm, Hong Kong + Sumatra, Indonesia
Remember the guri guri potion stopper? It has now completed with a jar!
The jar has been custom made for the stopper.
The figurine belonged to the datu (shaman) of the Batak tribe in Sumatra. Magic guri guri potion would have been kept in the jar, which is the ingredient for magic performed by the datu.
The figurine consists of 2 humans riding on a singa, a mythological creature that is benevolent and powerful, it is described to be part human, part buffalo, part crocodile.
W110xH150mm, Hong Kong
Aside from all the symbolism that the umbrella has on Hong Kong recently, this is a paper cutout from the scene of the Opera Madam White Snake. The story was set at the West Lake in Sung dynasty, one day in the rain the young gentleman Xu Xian (figure above) saw two pretty girl at the pier and offered the umbrella to them leading to the romance of the story. Earlier on, Xu Xian rescued a white snake, it was moved and fell in love with Xu. The white snake transformed herself into Bai (white) Su Zhen and together with her friend Qing Qing (green) appeared at the pier. Under her magical spell, Xu fell in love with Bai.
Click to see an embroidery of the the same scene.
W110xD90xH80mm, China
A special twin teapot for drinking floral tea.
The teapots are conjoined, each with its own compartment; one for tea leaf and one for flower. For the tea enthusiasts, the brewing time for leaf being different from brewing flowers, requiring longer time and hotter water.
Mountain Folkcraft 