THE International Food, Fashion & Art Festival 2012 concluded with an artwork contest and Purple Food Fashion Party at Huafa New Land of Huafa Century City in Wanzai a week ago Saturday evening.
Nearly 100 dresses, high-heels and other apparel and accessories made out of dried lemon slices, red dates, reed leaves, grapes, lotus roots, durian, tremella and dried red peppers had been collected since the festival kicked off on May 7.
The music of a live band preceding the restaurant cuisine competition and the fashion show by western and Chinese models garbed in food delighted spectators. The top 20 were selected via online and on-site voting until first place went to a macaroni dress.
Holding Cash Coupons, people queued in long lines in front of the bell tower to sample food provided free by Killiney Restaurant of Singapore, Starbucks, Amici Miei Italian Restaurant, Chitose Japanese Restaurant, Spanish La Marina Bar & Restaurant, Red Mango Thai Restaurant, Kamo Family Wines Cellar and Guzel Superb Club of Athens. Restaurateurs presented their highly appealing private-recipe dishes or snacks while the wine cellar showcased eye-catching colourful cocktails. With a stamped coupon anyone could taste one dish or drink from each provider.
A lucky draw for the microblogs on the big screen was conducted before the party began. Feted with food, fashion and art, guests happily danced in tune in front of the bell tower.
Fabien Mouret, a renowned photographer from France, has spent quite some time shooting pictures and reporting on working people and events in India, Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries. He also photographed restaurants and food in Huafa New Land, the fashion competition entries and artwork of western and Chinese artists over the past few weeks. His splendid photos were on display along the corridor leading to the bell tower that night.
Fabien first came to China in 2008 and this was his first time in Zhuhai, he explained.
“I like Zhuhai,” he said: “The most interesting thing for me is to work with Chinese people.”
China has grown rapidly and has been in the limelight of the globe, therefore it was a great opportunity to work in China, he stated.
Roland Darjes is a German artist living and working in Shanghai. Based on his interest in new media in the field of art, he works in sculpture and installations. After living in the United States and Argentina, his fascination for other cultures brought him to China four years ago, and he has since incorporated the overwhelming inspiration of Shanghai’s city lights into his art using the media of light sculpture.
A collection of artwork by Roland was displayed near the bell tower. Red boxes each showcasing such designs as a banana on fur titled In the Wilderness, banana on Chinese silk titled Chinese Dreams, banana on flower petals titled True Love, banana on broken mirror glass titled Broken Dreams and so on.
“Bananas are pretty curved. I like bananas and the different ways bananas are,” Roland said.
He also exhibited work composed of dried lemon slices and star anise, paperboard egg cartons and smashed eggshells.
Chinese people may not understand it, but he just presents his art in his own way, Roland explained. He liked the FFA Festival and its idea of relating food to fashion and art.
“We are very grateful that Huafa New Land can host this kind of event to bring many new things to Zhuhai,” JJ Verdun, director of Delta Bridges Media, which was a media partner of Huafa Group, was quoted by www.x3cn.com as saying.
- By Betty Lin, Zhuhai Daily
