Exhibition jointly organised by Temple Mall & The Art of Mahjong Craft – 30/12/2022 – 05/02/2023
Mahjong is a traditional tabletop game that was popular as a form of entertainment in the old days of Hong Kong. The recent pandemic has renewed its interest as a popular ‘health-conducive at-home exercise’ for families and friends, as well as a good tool to train the perception of the elderly.
However, have you ever found yourself curious about the culture and artistic history behind this traditional game? What enables this ancient, entertaining game containing such rich elements for example history, culture, economics, mathematics, theories, psychology, thinking analysis and even intelligence development to be passed on until today attracting players over the world?
From the aesthetic perspective, aesthetic connotations were found in the making of Mahjong tiles throughout the production process in different materials, pattern designs to hand-carving skills. In 2014, the Mahjong tile making processes were listed as one of the items in Hong Kong Intangible Cultural Heritage.
Jointly organised by the Temple Mall and the Art of Mahjong Craft, an exhibition under the theme ‘Celebrate the Spring Festival by Exploring Innate Aesthetics of Mahjong Art Story’ is held from 30 December 2022 until 5 February 2023 in Temple Mall in the form of a sparrow-guided tour. Visitors will be able to explore the origin of Mahjong and discover the unexpected aesthetic of Mahjong! With Wong Tai Sin District as the starting point, audiences will understand the traditional Mahjong tile making and the culture behind it.
Four highlighted exhibition zones in different themes deliver an overview of Mahjong culture and Mahjong aesthetics in different styles and categories. More than 20 items of exhibits in different eras as early as 1920s covering collectibles and photographs will be featured. The four display themes include:
- Pass it on — Intangible heritage of hand-carved Mahjong aesthetics
- Explore the origin: History of Mahjong and evolvement of materials for making Mahjong tiles
- Old Hong Kong Story –The tale of Fuk Hing Ling Mahjong Manufacturing Factory (1963-2009)
- Silver lining — Interesting story about Mahjong tile making industry in Hong Kong
English webpage info lasts until February 2023. Click the above to read more
In this exhibition, a little sparrow (mahjong) takes the audience on a journey through time and space. The sparrow returns to Temple Mall, where the younger generation is discovering their roots via a modern exhibition of cultural artwork inspired by illustrator, Karen Aruba’s beautiful floral and lovely sparrows (mahjong), and Master Ricky Cheung, one of the leftover hand-carved mahjong masters in Hong Kong, with the aim to inspire youth to recognise this traditional culture and continue to pass it on.
Along with exhibition, there is three-metre tall giant mah-jong installation at Temple Mall North as well as designs with very big mahjong displays in a ‘Thirteen Orphan’ theme for excellent photo taking opportunities during the Chinese New Year. Those who want to spread the luck to their loved ones can do so with one-of-a-kind Fai Chun stickers created in the “Love in a Tile” DIY WhatsApp sticker booth during the exhibition period
Celebrate the Spring Festival by Exploring Innate Aesthetics of Mahjong Art Story
Date: 30 December 2022 to 5 February 2023
Time: 11am to 8pm
Exhibition Venue: 1/F, Temple Mall North
For media enquiry and/or request Chi or Eng press release images for publication, please send email to: Joyce@karenaruba.com
Acknowledgements / Reference:
- Kanghong Digital Print
- Woo Kee Entertainment
- Mah jongg – The Art of the Game authored by Gregg Swain
- Mahjongg Designer & Collector Katherine Hartman
- 麻雀博物館大圖錄