CHIN JIAN WEI | 11 September 2025
KWAI Chai Hong has become renowned for its art installations that combine modern artistry with traditional art, and its latest offering is no exception. Often coinciding with cultural holidays like Chinese New Year, Moonlit Blossom is here to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival. Curated by Kwai Chai Hong co-founder Javier Chor, Moonlit Blossom retells the story of the Chinese folk legend of Wu Gang, the woodcutter condemned to the moon, and made to eternally try to cut down an Osmanthus tree. His efforts will forever be in vain, as the tree heals with each strike of his axe.
Kwai Chai Hong has been bedecked with 100 floral-themed Chinese lanterns, 48 of which are suspended above the Red Bridge that leads visitors into the alley. Once visitors walk to the end of the bridge, they will find themselves beneath the enormous moon lantern, with one side depicting Wu Gang in the midst of his Sisyphean task. On the other side of the moon lantern, just as with the myth, Chang’e and the Jade Rabbit reside.
Zeen Chang, co-founder of Kwai Chai Hong says, “Unlike Chang’e and the Jade Rabbit, who are superheroes, Wu Gang is an antihero. He is an example for all of us to learn to persevere and be determined.” In the myth, th e woodcutter Wu Gang goes to the Jade Emperor to learn how to become immortal. However, he lazily gives up halfway through the process. As punishment, he is sent to the moon and told that if he can chop down the Osmanthus tree, he will become immortal.
“As Wu Gang hits the tree, Osmanthus petals fall … which is why you’re stepping on them right now. You are now experiencing him chopping down the tree,” Chang says, as she points out the printed Osmanthus petals on the floor. “The Osmanthus bloom is fleeting; it only lasts between three and 10 days, and thereafter you have to wait for a whole year before you see them again. Javier wanted to immortalise the installation. Wu Gang teaches all of us that intention without action is futile. Zero effort, zero results.”
Wong Si Ying and Chia Hong Yuan of the award-winning creative digital storytelling studio Seeing Artelier have also created an Augmented Reality TikTok filter that captures Wu Gang in the act of chopping the tree, as well as the Osmanthus petals that fall as he does so. As is typical of a Kwai Chai Hong project, tradition is seamlessly integrated with digital innovation. Visitors feel as if they are right next to Wu Gang himself.
Wong says, “The Osmanthus only blooms for a really short period, so we wanted to make a filter where people can keep on enjoying the bloom. Javier gave us the images, and we then worked on the animations and integrated them with AR. We wanted to incorporate it into real life, so we added colour to the original black images, which are a match to the ones you see on the lantern.”
“A lot of people say heritage is about tradition and old stuff,” Wong continues. “But to us, it is a good thing and a blessing that we are in a digital world right now. We can bring folklore that is usually transmitted orally or through storybooks to life. You can immerse yourself in it and connect with it. We hope that more creators will use AR in more meaningful ways.”
Drum up JB, an acclaimed traditional drum performance troupe from Johor Baru, put on a riveting performance during the launch of the installation in late August. They practice the art of 24 Festive Drums, which is a traditional Malaysian drum performance and considered a Malaysian Intangible Cultural Heritage. The drummers energetically beat away at the drums while incorporating dance and rapid movement.
According to Damien Leow, co-founder of Drum Up JB, the 24 Festive Drums refer to the 24 solar terms in traditional Chinese lunisolar calendars. “It’s an ancient agricultural calendar,” Leow explains. “Each of the four seasons is separated into six periods. It helps the farmer know when to plant the seeds and when to harvest. The idea of the Mid-Autumn Festival, is also about this, and the drums help us to celebrate this tradition.”
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