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kelvin liu

Photo Book

What the Night Brings

Editorial

Crossing the Wagon

kelvin liu

Photo Book

What the Night Brings

Editorial

Crossing the Wagon

Photo Book

Folder: Stories

What the Night Brings

Editorial

Crossing the Wagon

Dancing Masks

A short story on Chinese Lion Dance masks: their design and art form from Malaysia to Hong Kong.

Inside a Malaysian shop lies a beautifully finished lion mask. In recent years, lion dance has been moving into mainstream sporting competitions often practiced by teenagers. The masks themselves have also evolved into a more youthful design. Notice

Felix Loh, once a lion dance practitioner, inspects a Malaysian-made Hok Saan mask.

The materials used for the underlying structure varies depending on the region. Often dictated by availability of the resources, but sometimes also by economical factors. Malaysia, for example, uses vines whereas Hong Kong uses bamboos where more pr

Unfinished lion masks hanging inside Hung Si Lau (雄獅樓), one of the few traditional lion mask makers remaining in Hong Kong.

A traditional Fat Saan lion mask. It differs from Hok Saan with the metal horn on top, the protruding snout, the curled up mouth and overall menacing look. This particular black mask, as shown here, has been traditionally recognized as a "flighting

Inside a family owned lion mask shop, the family has been practicing lion dance for the past three generations.

Straightening the wires for the lion's decorative whiskers.

In the traditional southern lion masks, categorized into Hok Saan and Fat Saan, it often takes as much as 13 hours to hand-paint each design. Since there are no patterns or templates to follow, each finished masterpiece has a unique design pending t

Hui sifu is one of the few lion mask makers who still employs the more traditional methods. Utilizing these techniques, the lion mask is capable of supporting the weight of a grown man. He and his skills are now listed under Hong Kong arts heritage

Inside this elaborate piece of art lies simple, but practical, mechanisms for controlling the lion's expressions much like those available to a puppeteer. The black string shown here is for controlling the lion's ears while the wooden stick and rect

The biennial Genting World Lion Dance Championship is one of the biggest events for these teenage athletes.

Break or make. Striking a pose on the 5-plus feet high stilts. This is the performers' 15-minutes of fame.

Copyright © 2015- Kelvin Z Liu. All rights reserved

Copyright © 2015- Kelvin Z Liu
All rights reserved