HIYA

Chun Fan | Vice Chairman of of HIYA

Island of Sugared Fire – Louis To Wun and the Contemporary Transmission of Heritage on Cheung Chau

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Louis To Wun was born on Cheung Chau, a small Hong Kong island steeped in fishing village traditions and folk beliefs. Hailed as the “Hidden Sugar Figurine Master of Cheung Chau,” he is a contemporary interpreter of the traditional Chinese arts of sugar sculpture and bamboo crafting—both recognized as national intangible cultural heritage. Not merely a preserver of disappearing crafts, To revitalizes these arts through a contemporary artistic vocabulary, breathing new life into vanishing traditions. His creations are not just extensions of craft—they are heartfelt responses to human warmth, community, and island memory.

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In the 1990s, To shared a creative commune with fellow young artists on Lamma Island. His works burst with chromatic energy and spatial tension, fusing Eastern and Western visual languages into a distinct personal style. From 1992 to 1994, he consecutively won the Award of Excellence from the Philippe Charriol Foundation Modern Art Competition. In 1998, he held his first solo exhibition and went on to represent Hong Kong at PS1 MoMA’s Inside Out: New Chinese Art in New York and the British Museum in the UK.In 2004, he co-founded Sense 99 with his close friend Rupert Wong—a hybrid space for music, video, painting, and critical thought, which became the underground heartbeat of Hong Kong’s alternative culture.

A Lonely Path to Reviving Sugar Blowing

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In 2009, hoping to share with his daughter the childhood memory of sugar-blown figurines, To decided to revive the nearly lost art of sugar blowing. But he soon realized that no masters remained in the city—it had vanished. Without a teacher, he had to start from scratch. Sugar overheated became brittle; underheated, unshapable. Each experiment ended in burns and failure.He once recalled: “The hardest part isn't blowing the dragon—it’s pinching the tail. You have to do it in one go before the sugar cools.” That phrase is not only a summary of technique—it’s a metaphor for his entire journey.

Innovating the Language of Tradition

Without traditional recipes, To developed his own formula—experimenting with sugar temperatures and plasticity, ultimately creating a healthier, low-sugar, high-transparency material. To transform sugar figurines from mere display pieces into participatory art, he invented a low-temperature technique safe for children, and replaced chemical dyes with natural plant-based pigments.His demonstrations now appear in schools, community centres, museums, branded events, and even on the TED stage and in Tatler Asia. These efforts have earned him the nickname “Hong Kong Sugarman.”

Pushing the Boundaries of Bamboo Craft

Cheung Chau’s Tai Ping Ching Chiu festival—the island’s most celebrated folk event—features the iconic “Kirin Parade.”To was invited to create the lead Kirin figure. Yet his first attempt collapsed in the rain due to water damage. He realized that for tradition to move forward, it couldn’t merely replicate the past—it needed innovation.Delving into structural design and materials science, he reconstructed the bamboo skeleton through architectural logic and invented water-resistant paper. In 2015, he personally carried the Kirin into the sea to test its durability. His philosophy: “Tradition is not for worship—it’s for use.”

Beyond Tradition: Making Piu Sik into Theatre

Each year during the Piu Sik (Floating Colours) parade of the same festival, To also takes on the role of cultural curator. Beyond building floats, he conceptualizes characters, selects themes, writes narratives, and designs costumes. He insists:“Piu Sik isn’t for tourists—it’s for our ancestors and our community. It tells children where they come from.” His guidance is more than technical—it’s an embodied pedagogy. He teaches children to act not only with body but with eyes, transforming the float into a stage, and “floating” into performance.

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