IN time for this year's Chinese New Year celebrations, Kwai Chai Hong in Kuala Lumpur's Chinatown – one of the most Instagrammable spots in the city – presents a new eclectic art installation with traditional Chinese Calligraphy in bold, non-conventional representation and over-sized blossoms and foliage, to mark the arrival of spring, a time of new beginnings.
For the 'Poetic Spring Garden', Kwai Chai Hong collaborates with local artist Jaemy C, famous for his work with reimagining Chinese calligraphy in his artwork and exotic vivid visuals. Inspired by the year of the Water Rabbit, Jaemy presents an installation titled 'Wet Hot Spring Thing' with hidden messages for visitors to decipher.
Zeen Chang, managing partner of Bai Chuan Management, said: “Kwai Chai Hong has always been a catalyst for perpetuity in culture and celebrating modernity. This Chinese New Year, we are resetting the status quo of culture and art, pushing the boundaries that separate the new and the old.
"Realising that the younger generation is captivated with the idea of going back in time to revisit heritage and tradition, through the concept of Poetic Spring Garden, and Jaemy’s brush calligraphy art, we want to deliver tradition to the younger generation in a familiar vehicle without compromising modernisation, simply by speaking in a universal language of visual arts.
"Our astounding installation tells the story of tradition and heritage, and that traditional things like the Chinese Calligraphy installation, are not old fashioned. We can embrace modernity without forsaking tradition, through a common ground connecting the past and the future. It has always been in Kwai Chai Hong’s DNA.”
Artist Jaemy said: “I am super excited to collaborate with Kwai Chai Hong as we share a common belief in the long standing and unique values of cultural preservation.
"The installation is uniquely ours, striking, bold and unabashedly quirky. It also speaks to the masses who differ in culture and language, but share a common appreciation for the Chinese art form and its festive symbolisms.”
This is also the largest art installation Jaemy has ever worked on.
The Poetic Spring Garden installation is sponsored by Yes 5G, one of the pioneers of this new technology and aims to reach out to all Malaysians. Hence, the preponderance of pink.
Kwai Chai Hong will be open to the public daily from 9am to 12am. The Poetic Spring Garden art installation will be available from January 6 to February 12. – The Vibes, January 8, 2023
