[News from Institutions] 2nd MOTIFX – Embracing the Beauty of Chinese Culture
Culture to Nature: A Surreal Garden of Botanical Patterns Transforms Central This March

Following the enthusiastic response at DesignInspire, the 2nd MOTIFX – Embracing the Beauty of Chinese Culture returns with a major showcase at the LANDMARK from 3 to 31 March 2026. As one of LANDMARK’s key highlights this March, the exhibition gathers and showcases many works of emerging artists, bringing a burst of traditional-meets-modern creative energy to the heart of Central.

MOTIFX is organised by the Hong Kong Design Institute (HKDI) under the Vocational Training Council (VTC) and sponsored by the Cultural and Creative Industries Development Agency (CCIDA), inviting emerging designers to reinterpret traditional Chinese motifs for contemporary contexts. This year’s theme, "Culture to Nature – A Surreal Garden of Botanical Patterns," explores the mystical side of Chinese characters, specifically the Radical Grass (艹 / 艸), through the perspective of different designers, bringing its evocative connection to a surreal botanical world into life through both physical and digital mediums.

Curated by Michael LEUNG, the exhibition brings together multiple local and international participants, as well as 30 local design students and young designers from diverse disciplines. Participating designers include Chulan KWAK, Cynthia MAK, Made by Sandwich, Karmuel YOUNG, Tomy NG, Moon.noon, STICKYLINE, and Leona FUNG.

Featured Highlights: From Calligraphic Lines to Gardens of Time

Over 100 original patterns inspired by the 艹 radical bloom in Chinese character across the exhibition space, each rooted in the same ancient, ever‑living origin yet expressing distinct creative voices. The exhibition redefines the relationship between cultural heritage and the natural world through several key designer collaborations.

Chulan KWAK – "Cursive Structure"
Chulan KWAK’s Cursive Structure series transforms two‑dimensional calligraphy into three‑dimensional objects. Inspired by the flowing strokes of Caoshu (草書) and the Small Seal Script (小篆體) form of the 艸 radical, the work turns “Radical Grass (艸)” into a pair of low chairs.

By keeping the distinction between 艸 and 木 (tree), the pieces are set apart from the vertical form of trees and bring the energy and tension of calligraphic brushwork into physical space.

Cynthia MAK – "Tea Lamp"
Drawing inspiration from the Chinese character 茶 （tea） and the poetic essence of  “Life is like tea – bitter at first, then sweet,” Cynthia reflects on life’s delicate balance between darkness and brightness in her creation, “Tea Lamp”. She reimagines the traditional Chinese lantern through vibrant colours and geometric abstraction, which serves as a warm reminder that, after a bitter day, a gentle radiance always awaits at home.

Made by Sandwich – "Garden of States"
Made by Sandwich’s Garden of Time probes the philosophical relationship between the 艹 radical and time. The designers argue that numerous 艹 – derived characters (such as 茂, 蘇, 萎, 荒) illustrate the shifting conditions of plants across time rather than static shapes. The work breaks away from a linear conception of time, layering moments of growth, decline, and disappearance onto a single visual. By assembling these “time slices” into one composition, it constructs a garden of time in which multiple states coexist, showing the simultaneous presence of flourishing and disappearance.

Karmuel YOUNG & Tomy NG - “Tower”
Inspired by the radical grass symbol (艸 / ++), Karmuel YOUNG and Tomy NG collaborate on the multimedia work, “Tower”. A still yet highly charged installation that captures a moment of growth, “Tower” fuses art, fashion, and furniture using contemporary raw materials, dutifully interpreting growth as a process of emergence, layering, and change.

Karmuel shapes the base on Suprematist and Constructivist ideas, using rigid geometric forms and a neutral palette to highlight the texture of the materials, creating a stable, balanced yet restrained structure.

Tomy adds a glowing cellular element that acts as both light and living form. The floor lamp is designed as a suspended “cell”: a translucent 3D‑printed resin core wrapped in an inflatable latex membrane that functions like a placenta. As the latex inflates and deflates, the shape expands and contracts, shifting between open and enclosed states. Compared with the solid base, the structure feels fragile, porous, and time‑based, turning light into a living presence shaped by pressure and duration.

Immersive Experiences: The Intersection of Virtual and Reality
The exhibition utilizes multi-media works and installations, leading visitors into a sensory experience.

Moon.noon – "Blossom Unbounds"
Moon.noon’s “Blossom Unbounds” creates a multisensory, immersive experience that brings together dynamic visuals, scent, and music into one seamless environment for MOTIFX. Drawing inspiration from the grass radical (艹) in Chinese characters, the work abstracts botanical forms into flowing, interactive patterns that reflect the cycles of the 24 solar terms and local flora.

Visual, auditory, and olfactory elements are carefully combined so that viewers move between the real and the digital, experiencing the changing seasons—from spring’s blossoming to winter’s quiet dormancy—and feeling the continuous rhythm of nature and culture. The installation invites personal discovery while dissolving the boundaries between traditional art and immersive, sensory‑driven design.

STICKYLINE - "Geometric Variants in Growth"
STICKYLINE’s large-scale installation Geometric Variants in Growth questions the boundary between the virtual and the real. This lush geometric jungle is built entirely from the endless stacking of two simple paper modules, each patterned with lines that resemble leaf veins while also echoing digital barcodes.

The work suggests that, as we allow real, tangible nature to gradually fade away, every like, share, and copy‑paste on social media nurtures an ever‑expanding virtual jungle that spirals out of control. 

By inviting visitors to step into this man-made landscape, the installation prompts reflection on the increasingly blurred symbiosis between humans and nature—where both are quietly disappearing at once.

Contemporary Transformations of Traditional Craft

The exhibition also features works by artist Leona FUNG. Her brand ByLeona’s premium porcelain series blends the auspicious symbolism of traditional Chinese floral motifs with contemporary geometric aesthetics.

Leona moves beyond ceramics as mere tableware, selectively blended in Motifx ambassadors' pattern with ByLeona's original designs, extending intricate patterns onto functional objects such as floor lamps, mirrors, and candle holders. Guided by the principle that “every pattern carries meaning, and every meaning is auspicious,” she seamlessly integrates cultural symbols into modern living spaces, showing how traditional craftsmanship and contemporary design can speak to each other.

This March, step into a world of symbols hidden within Chinese characters. Immerse yourself in the myriad forms of this fantastical nature.

Moroso × HKDI: “Designing Clothes for Furniture Objects”

A special collaboration between the renowned Italian luxury furniture brand Moroso and students from HKDI’s Department of Architecture, Interior and Product Design (AIP) is also on display. Together, they present the forward-looking project with MOTIFX patterns printed on the fabrics to “Designing Clothes for Furniture Objects”. This project treats furniture as "living bodies" to be dressed transforming textiles and soft components into fluid attire. These pieces reflect more than the students’ taste and aesthetic, but also their versatility and capacity for emotional expression. Students have created interchangeable and upgradeable “furniture garments” that respond to personal habits and environments, exploring circularity and modularity in luxury design.

The 2nd MOTIFX - Embracing the Beauty of Chinese Culture Exhibition
Date    : 3 Mar – 31 Mar, 2026
Time    : 10:30AM – 7:30PM (Monday to Sunday)
Venue    : 2/F, LANDMARK ATRIUM
 
The 2nd MOTIFX - Embracing the Beauty of Chinese Culture Exhibition at FASHION INSTYLE, HOME INSTYLE EXHIBITION 2026
Date    : 27 Apr – 30 Apr, 2026
Time    : 9:00AM – 6:00PM 
Venue    : Concourse Area, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre

About Vocational Training Council (VTC)
Established in 1982, the Vocational Training Council (VTC) is the largest vocational and professional education and training provider in Hong Kong. The mission of VTC is to provide a valued choice to school leavers and working people to acquire the values, knowledge and skills for lifelong learning and enhanced employability, and also to provide support to industries for their manpower development. VTC has 14 member institutions, namely the Technological and Higher Education Institute of Hong Kong (THEi), the Institute of Professional Education And Knowledge (PEAK), the School for Higher and Professional Education (SHAPE), the Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education (IVE), the Hong Kong Design Institute (HKDI), the Hong Kong Institute of Information Technology (HKIIT),  the Hotel and Tourism Institute (HTI),  the Chinese Culinary Institute (CCI), the International Culinary Institute (ICI), the Maritime Services Training Institute (MSTI), Youth College, Pro-Act by VTC, the Integrated Vocational Development Centre (IVDC) and the Shine Skills Centre.
Website:  www.vtc.edu.hk

About Hong Kong Design Institute (HKDI)
Hong Kong Design Institute (HKDI) is a member of VTC Group. HKDI was established in 2007 with the mission to be a leading provider of design education and lifelong learning, including architecture, interior and product design, communication design, digital media, and fashion and image design. With a view to providing professional designers for the creative industries, it promotes the “think and do” approach and encourages interdisciplinary synergy in its broad range of design programmes that cultivates students’ cultural sensitivities and sense of sustainability. HKDI maintains a strong network with industry and provides its students with essential practical experience. Overseas exchanges are actively arranged for students to broaden their international perspective. 
Website: http://www.hkdi.edu.hk

About Cultural and Creative Industries Development Agency (CCIDA)
The Cultural and Creative Industries Development Agency (CCIDA), formerly known as Create Hong Kong (CreateHK) since 2009, was established in June 2024.  CCIDA is  a dedicated office under the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR Government) to provide one-stop services and support to the cultural and creative sectorswith a mission to foster a conducive environment in Hong Kong to facilitate development of the arts, culture and creative sectors as industries.  CCIDA’s strategic foci are nurturing talent and facilitating start-ups, exploring markets, promoting cross-sectoral and multi-disciplinary collaboration, promoting industrialisation of the arts, culture and creative sectors under the industry-oriented principle, and fostering a creative atmosphere in the community, thereby reinforcing Hong Kong as Asia’s creative capital and our positioning as the East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchange.
Website: https://www.ccidahk.gov.hk