[GASSAN] – Second latest project wrapped three weeks ago for a Japanese Omakase restaurant in Central, Hong Kong. Gassan, a newly opened Omakase restaurant, uses the same name as the highest of the Three Mountains of Dewa in the ancient province of Dewa. Instead of creating a mural which reflects stereotypical elements of Japan, I think it would be more interesting and unique to explore the natural side and the traditional side of Gassan, providing a more sophisticated context which allows the audience to explore further, rather than another mural with stereotypical depiction of Japanese symbols. The mural depicts three major elements: the dragon, the flowers and the tree, each representing an element of Gassan. Dragon represents the Gassan Shrine, which is located at the top of the mountain, where worshippers have been visiting the place of mountain worship since ancient times. The tree represents the natural side of the mountain, Midagahara Marsh, a plateau at an altitude of 1,400 meters with more than 130 species of flowers. In my mural, the dragon morphs into the tree, symbolizing how the traditional shrine exists with its natural environments in harmony, while flowers symbolize the fragility and purity of humanity and its creation (The shrine) in ancient times.
The mural is measured to be 2100mm x 4000mm. Painted with alcohol based ink. Thanks everyone in the team for their trust and allowing me to actualise my vision without much compromises. The process of making this mural was pretty spontaneous, a lot of improvisations which didn’t happen at the drafting stage. I suppose we all had a few moments of heart attack, but yea we made it.
