A new light art exhibition will take visitors to the Sai Ying Pun Community Complex on a journey through time — and even give them a new take on the cats that frequent the Central and Western District neighbourhood. The exhibition, titled ‘Love in the Light’, will see the historic arched verandahs of the Old Mental Hospital lit up in an array of colours every day at 6pm-10pm, until May 21, 2025.
Visitors who walk past the granite facade of the building at this time every evening will notice that it is lit up in a variety of colours. Those who venture into the community complex that was built on the site of the Old Mental Hospital on High Street and walk under the arched verandahs will be mesmerised by how the colours change in time with accompanying music.
The early Baroque features of the building — especially the wide arched verandah, ornamented railings and lower level of rusticated granite blocks — are rare in Hong Kong, resulting in the facade of the Old Mental Hospital being declared as a monument. The streets of Sai Ying Pun are also famously home to shop cats. So, in a nod to this quirky aspect of the neighbourhood, anyone who visits the community complex structure in the day can use augmented reality to allow the cartoon versions of the famed felines to walk with them down the verandah via their mobile phone screens.
Header image credits: ULifestyle
