Archives for category: Art & Design

Coca Cola Pavilion, London Olympic Games 2012
Coca Cola Pavilion, London Olympic Games 2012
After watching China winning  gold in 3m springboard synchronised diving, we were high in spirits when we stumbled upon a curious red and white pavilion. I suddenly recalled a friend telling me about the Coca Cola Beat Box– It has been built!

Unfortunately, the concept drawing looked a lot more interesting than in real life, as the mass of the core in the middle killed what was supposed to be light red and white interlocking panels (which produce special ‘beats’ when the sensors hidden in the panels are triggered). The beats are supposed to resemble that of Olympic disciplines but the narratives are too forced in my opinion. The best part of it is actually not the design of the pavilion, but what is waiting at the top……

Touch pad-Coca Cola Pavilion, London Olympic Games 2012

Olympic torch photo opportunity  in the Coca Cola Pavilion, London Olympic Games 2012
Light installation  in the Coca Cola Pavilion, London Olympic Games 2012
Yes, you guessed it right! Check here to see the answer >>

The Front Row at London Fashion Week 2012
I had my little Anne Wintour moment at London Fashion Week 2012. Oh well, kind of. It was my first time attending a fashion show. I was excited.

Somerset House, London Fashion Week 2012
It was surprising to see how many people bothered to wake up early on a cold winter’s day to go and see the show. I woke up even earlier than I would do in a week day! That is the magic of fashion, I suppose? Continue reading to check out the fashion show >>

We went to see David Hockney‘s latest show ‘A Bigger Picture’ at Royal Academy of Arts on a cold day in mid-winter. It has been a while since I last went to the countryside as it just seems to be dull and cold most of the time.


‘Woldgate Woods, 21, 23 & 29 November 2006’, 2006. Oil on 6 canvases. 182 x 366 cm. © David Hockney. Photo credit: Richard Schmidt, from RCA website.

This show has been widely anticipated and was said to be likely to be as popular as the National Gallery’s exhibition for Leonardo De Vinci. How was it? Click here to find out >>

Autumn gold and red
Autumn gold and red Continue to see the beautiful autumn red >>

Mah Jong with Scrabble
I love Mah Jong! It is a fun game that requires lots of thinking, so much so that some think it is a good ‘brain’ exercise that helps reducing the chances of Alzheimer!

I enjoy playing this game with my non- Chinese friends too. Our Mah Jong evening usually starts with take-away roast duck(s) from Four Season, Queensway- allegedly the best in London. (Though I have to say it is still no way as amazing as the roast geese from Yue Kee in Hong Kong.) It is a great way for them to learn Chinese!

A recent trip to the Temple of Heaven in Beijing, China, led me to discover a new game (photo above). Continue reading to see what that is >>

Baby pigeon with a full tummy
Have you ever seen a pigeon baby? Well, you have now. (photo above)

This little one has just been fed, as you can clearly see the birdfeed through its thin skin. A little creepy! Though it is also amazing and magical that in just a few weeks, it turns into a beautiful pure white Fantail pigeon like below.

White fantail pigeon
Or into a little odd but remarkable looking Frillback pigeon, which has bizarre curly feathers and ‘funky boots’, which are actually feathers on the feet! (photo below)
Frillback pigeon
Or an Indian Pigeon which is full of character and pride. Continue reading to check out more funky pigeons >>

1888 Mural in Horse and Dolphin Yard, London Chinatown
1888 is an outdoor mural (8 metre by 5 metre) which I created for London, to celebrate the heritage and vibrance of its Chinatown. It was unveiled on 18.08.08 (18th August 2008). Today, it is 3 years old!

Vistors reading the plaque
It is composed of 1888 photos which are related to Chinatown, donated by the public. ‘8’ is a good figure in Chinese numerology – it symbolises fortune, so a triple eight is especially good. The number one, in Cantonese, sounds like the word for ‘every day’. When I created the mural, I wished that it would bring good fortune to Chinatown every day.

It started as an art competition, which I only discovered 6 days before the submission deadline. Even though I am an architect, I have never really entered anything like this – but I felt strongly about it and the ideas just kept coming. 1888 combined my passions (food, photography and event organising) with my attachment to Chinatown. The final idea came to me very quickly. And I won! Continue reading to see how the mural was made (video) and more >>

With large numbers of people now owning smart phones with built in cameras, there has been a great amount of press regarding the new spate of augmented reality adverts, where one can simply point their smartphone at something, and a virtual layer can be superimposed over the real world. Today I decided to visit the world of augmented reality.


I had not stumbled across the augmented reality adverts in real life before, I had just seen them discussed in news articles etc, but while in a camera shop, I came across a number of advertising postcards for Panasonic‘s new G3 camera. The cards stated ‘To bring this card to life, download Aurasma Lite from the App Store. Point your smart phone/device at the image to access special, extra content.’

It was almost something out of Harry Potter, especially with the instructions on how to ‘bring things to life’. Continue reading about Augmented reality >>


I went to a Chinese concert recently and was intrigued by one of the Chinese wind instruments Hulusi葫蘆絲 (photo below). It has a Calabash葫蘆 head connected to a bamboo body.

The bamboo has finger holes which the performer blocks/ unblocks while blowing through the mouth piece on the top. It sounds a bit like flute but as the Hulusi is made from Calabash, a full bodied fruit that has been emptied and dried. It has a rounder sound. Click here to have a look at Hulusi >>

Takashi MurakamiI have not heard much about Takashi Murakami’s work before, but as I grew up in Hong Kong where Japanese cartoons are shown daily on TV and Japanese manga is pretty much part of people’s life, I am not a stranger to Japanese sexual fantasy, especially how women are usually portrayed as figures that have big breasts, short body and super long legs. Takashi Murakami has ’embraced’ this part of Japanese culture by making two 3 metre high sculptures of what would have been palm size dolls. You can check them out in the Gagosian Gallery, which held an amazing light exhibition of James Turrell earlier this year.

There is also a 2 metre high golden penis standing alongside an equally tall silver vagina. Both have a smiley face on top.


A series of paintings of naked women were on display on one side of the wall. They have been mounted in such a way that your eye level lines up with the level of their genital areas.

Hmmm…. Continue reading >>