Hua Wen Kao, a student in the Exhibition and Experience Design master’s program, has been selected as one of 20 winners in Prada’s Action in the Year of the Tiger competition.
Action in the Year of the Tiger is an art project that aims to both raise public awareness about the tiger’s serious risk of extinction and to simultaneously celebrate creativity. The competition started with Prada’s invitation to talented art students under the age of 30 from all over the world produce their own personal interpretation of the tiger. The artists had the freedom to express themselves however they liked, using the languages of painting, design, and sculpture. The students’ works were judged by a special jury comprising artists Liu Ye, Lu Yang, and Goshka Macuga.
Kao’s design, called “Restore Balance,” features a tiger—symbolizing strength in China—and the colors black and white, which represent the yin and yang balance of Taoism, as well as the balance between humans and the environment. These representations of strength and balance are also inspired by elements of Prada’s branding and retail space designs. The tiger’s eyes in the image symbolize how Prada sees the status of tigers—shedding light on the habitat crisis that the tiger is currently facing and calling on the public to see the unseen.
These representations of strength and balance are also inspired by elements of Prada’s branding and retail space designs. According to Kao, the goal of the design is to bring together people from different neighborhoods and cultures and to raise awareness of Prada’s mission for ecological conservation and efforts to restore balance.
“I was honored that my design was selected by Prada,” she said. “This definitely shows how I learned from the Exhibition and Experience Design program, and my ability to create a story from an individual perspective and observations in everyday life.”
Kao’s competition entry was on display at Prada Rong Zhai in Shanghai through September 18.