“Picture our imagination with the power of story.”          Un Chi Wai

Taipa Village Cultural Association is proud to present the first solo exhibition entitled “What Are You Thinking?  Picture Book by Un Chi Wai” created by  Macau talented illustration artist Un Chi Wai. The exhibition showcases a self-published children’s picture book which interprets the daydreaming phenomenon. This psychological phenomenon is considered as a state of mind that is part of everyone’s daily life, including children and adults. Purposely, the storyboard of this picture book  has an open ending subject for the reader’s own interpretation and imagination,  hence making it also an entertaining reading experience for parents and grownups

Artist Profile

Chi-Wai Un is an illustrator and graphic designer from Macau, China. As a graduate of Chinese Culture University in advertising, Un has created drawings for various brands, including DFS, LINE, T2 tea, and Tokyo Milk Cheese Factory HK. In addition to commercial  collaborations, Un has participated in different art projects, such as Macau International Parade, Macao International Music Festival, and Macao Arts Festival.

Curator’s Statement 

Un Chi Wai is a young, independent and talented local illustration artist, self-motivated and with an astute sense to generate narratives and characters upon which his illustrations are based. One of his biggest productions to date was the character design for the Parade Through Macao, Latin City in 2016, commissioned by Cultural Affairs Bureau. It consisted of several giant three-dimensional characters and brightly coloured mascots, one of the tallest reached 4 meters in height located at Tap Seac square, animating the parade route while contributing to the festive and whimsical atmosphere.

For his first ever solo exhibition, Un Chi Wai’s minimal approach has a unique targeted audience, showcasing a self-published children’s picture book which interprets the phenomenon of daydreaming. This psychological phenomenon is considered a state of mind that is part of everyone’s daily life, including children and adults, and can be described as “a series of pleasant thoughts about something one prefers to be doing or something one would like to achieve in the future (Cambridge dictionary).” While it is still a rather disputed scientific subject, some researchers argue that daydreaming is actually important for children in developing internal reflection skills and in connect emotional implications of daily life experience with personal meaning building process.

The storyboard of this beautifully illustrated picture book has an open ending subject for the reader’s own interpretation and imagination, hence making it also an entertaining read for parents and grownups.

Inspired by this picture book, Gugumelo, an art education center which aims to cultivate the creativity, expressive power and expand the world view of children through drama education, had developed a custom-made puppet show that will debut on the opening day of the exhibition and will continue to be performed in other local institutions later on.

João Ó

About Gugumelo 

Established in 2019, Gugumelo is an art education center which was formed by a number of experienced and professional drama educators who carry the mission to cultivate the creativity, expressive power and the world view of children through drama education.  Gugumelo has collaborated with a number of organisations in Greater China, including Melco Resorts & Entertainment, The International School of Macau, Macau Autism Association, Shenzhen Little Comma Theater, as well as Taiwan Performosa Theater Company.

Selected Illustrations from the Picture Book