FOR many Malaysians, the Mid-Autumn Festival brings to mind mooncakes, colourful lanterns and gatherings with family and friends.
This year, an installation at Kwai Chai Hong in Kuala Lumpur’s Chinatown called “Lunar Harvest” draws attention to another staple: rice.
The display at the heritage alley off Lorong Panggung features dried padi, rice-sack lanterns and a pavilion inspired by a traditional rice mill.
Created by Donce Fine Floristry in collaboration with Kwai Chai Hong and Zus Coffee, the installation combines harvest imagery with familiar Malaysian objects, including woven baskets, gunny sacks and a kopitiam setting.
Kwai Chai Hong co-founder Zeen Chang said the theme was chosen to explore the festival’s association with harvest and gratitude for abundance.
“I gave them one word – ‘Harvest’,” she said of the brief given to the artists.
The Donce team, led by founders Delon Chai and Edmond Chua, responded with the idea of padi fields, choosing rice as something familiar in Malaysians’ everyday lives.
The team travelled to Sekinchan, Selangor, to source padi directly from farmers before drying it for the display.
Preparations took about three to four months, with the team having to work around the harvest season and the challenge of displaying natural materials outdoors.
At the location, visitors cross Kwai Chai Hong’s red bridge beneath a canopy of colourful lanterns, woven baskets and hats.
Made mainly from canvas and jute, the lanterns feature rice-sack designs alongside rabbit, moon, padi and rooster-bowl motifs that pay tribute to the heritage lane.
The Harvest Pavilion, set against an illustrated backdrop of moonlit fields, depicts the journey of padi through a rice mill before it is packed into sacks.
A kopitiam setting features a round table, stools, coffee utensils and biscuit tins, while smaller arrangements sit beside the alley’s existing murals.
Speaking at the media preview, Chang drew a parallel between Chinese and Malay teachings about not wasting rice.
A Chinese saying reminds visitors that every grain comes from hard work, while a similar Malay adage warns that uneaten rice will “cry” from the wastage.
“This Mid-Autumn, we are celebrating our similarities,” Chang said, expressing hope that visitors would leave with a greater appreciation of the farmers, cooks and others involved in bringing food to the table.
She said “Lunar Harvest” was Kwai Chai Hong’s 14th installation, with each edition aimed at introducing visitors to a cultural story or tradition.
“The artists were given room to develop their ideas, while we advised on safety, weather conditions and how the displays would fit into the heritage setting.
“For this edition, lanterns above the bridge were lowered to bring them closer to visitors.”
Chang said the seasonal displays were funded by Kwai Chai Hong, with sponsors helping to cover costs for some editions.
She said suitable structures and artworks were also reused after exhibitions, with previous pieces finding new homes in surrounding cafes.
“Lunar Harvest” runs until Oct 4, from 9am to midnight.
Admission is free.
