Yuejin Lantern Festival adds innovation to Lunar New Year in Taiwan

2018/05/07

Lantern Festival has been observed on the 15th day of the first lunar month for more than two millenniums. Signifying the end of Lunar New Year celebrations and the coming of spring, this occasion is marked across Taiwan at a wide variety of colorful and creative events.
 
 One of the most innovative additions to this cultural landscape is Yuejin Lantern Festival in southern Taiwan’s Tainan City. Launched in 2010 and organized by the metropolis’s Cultural Affairs Bureau, the event offers visitors distinctive views and experiences owing to the unconventional designs on display.
 
 While lanterns are traditionally themed around the Lunar New Year’s Chinese zodiac animal as well as historical figures and legendary beasts, the offerings at Yuejin share more in common with installation artworks.

This year’s event, held Feb. 10 to March 4, showcased 46 creations by artists, groups and students from home and abroad. Among the most eye-catching was “Unrelated” by Tainan’s Yu-Yu Art Studio.
 
 The shimmering golden lantern was constructed from strands of bamboo as well as iron, LED lights, steel wire and timber. “The vertical bamboo slices interweave the real and the virtual … and produce a riveting intersection of shadow and light,” the studio said in its introduction to the piece.

Another unique feature of this lantern event is the terrain. Some of the works on show in Yuejin—a busy river port during the Qing dynasty (1644-1911)—are installed on the water, offering interesting opportunities for artistic expression.
 
“The Reflection of Moon” provided a powerful example in this regard. Created from bamboo by the Department of Visual Arts at National Chiayi University in southern Taiwan, it was an intriguing horn-shaped sculpture during the day. Then in the evening, when darkness fell and the lights shone brightly, the reflection on the water gave it the appearance of a quarter moon.
 
 This year, more than 660,000 people opted to celebrate the end of Lunar New Year by experiencing the vibrant color and creativity of Yuejin Lantern Festival. The growing prominence and popularity of the event highlights the potential of boldly reimagining ancient traditions.

Source: Taiwan Today (https://taiwantoday.tw/news.php?unit=19&post=133748)