Celebrating Chinese New Year with Craft

The Style Sheet: Embroidery is often described as a traditional or nostalgic craft. Does that label feel accurate to you today?

YLYstudio: Yes, it is a traditional craft, but it doesn’t have to be nostalgic. More like a tool or a technique. We believe the development of the craft depends on how the creators apply it — either in a traditional or creative way.

Similarly, there’s a belief that people today are less interested in handcraft. What have you actually observed through your workshops and practice?

Perhaps people are less interested in craft, considering the fast pace of Hong Kong. And French embroidery is less common compared to some other kinds of crafts, so we’re not that easily exposed to it. But interestingly, more people have shown a growing interest in craft since the pandemic.

What’s the most unexpected or unconventional project you’ve ever approached through embroidery?

This project with Pacific Place is probably the one! The scale is much bigger than what we usually do.

The installation coincides with Chinese New Year, but it goes beyond festive decoration. What was the real starting point for the work?
The starting point was the concept of connecting East and West. Chinese New Year is probably the biggest and most important festival of the year, and how people normally connect with it is heavily linked with Chinese culture. But the kind of craft that we create has a strong Western touch, so we started thinking about how we could connect the East and the West, and then considering what kinds of motifs could represent joy and fortune from a more diverse cultural point of view.

French couture embroidery is normally presented in a small and delicate way, so we spent quite some time considering how we could achieve decorating such a huge space.

On that, the horses feature symbols drawn from both Eastern and Western cultures. What do the symbols mean, and why did you choose them?

During Chinese New Year, we wish for good health, wealth, luck and a prosperous year. Of course, we kept very significant symbols such as coins, flowers and clouds (祥云), but we also brought in four-leaf clovers symbolising luck — which are Western —  ladybirds symbolising luck and protection, birds and feathers symbolising joy, good luck and freedom, and pomegranates symbolising fertility, abundance and prosperity.

We also considered the visitors drawn to Pacific Place — it welcomes not only locals but also many tourists from around the world. We wanted to celebrate with everyone.

When viewers see the work up close, what details do you hope they notice?

Honestly, maybe the flaws. Everything was handmade locally, and it took more than a thousand hours to finish the embroidery pieces. This might not be a common craft we see in Hong Kong, and we hope to use this opportunity to show people the art of traditional French couture embroidery while celebrating Chinese New Year in a non-traditional way.

Experience Chinese New Year at Pacific Place and Starstreet Precinct with our Whimsical Gallop installation, shopping rewards and more. See more here. And alongside the festivities, above members can also attend embroidery workshops hosted by YLYstudio, inviting guests to experience their artistry up close.