Kaohsiung, June 16 (CNA) A display from the 2022 Taiwan Lantern Festival, depicting the "pulse" of expats in Taiwan, has won third prize at an art competition in Italy, Kaohsiung Deputy Mayor Shih Che (史哲) said Thursday.
Titled "Pulse" (脈動), the lantern was designed by a local firm MisoSoupDesign for this year's Lantern Festival, which was held Feb. 1-28 in Kaohsiung.
At the A' Design Award and Competition in Italy, the lantern was categorized as installation art, and it won third prize in the Arts, Crafts and Ready-Made Design Category.
Shih said the bronze award "Pulse" gained at the international competition in Italy highlighted Taiwan's cultural diversity.
The owners of MisoSoupDesign, Daisuke Nagatomo and Minnie Jan (詹明旎), said the lantern was a modern take on the normal light fixture.
"Pulse" was built using LED strips and steel tubes of different diameters, incorporating digital technology and an organic structure, said Nagatomo and Jan, who are a married couple from Japan and Taiwan, respectively.
The LED strips pulsate at different levels of brightness in time with background music, creating a lightshow that depicts the pulse of expats when they arrive in Taiwan, Nagatomo said.
The lantern's design was also aimed at depicting the emotions of expats when they encounter new adventures, languages, and cultures and feel the need for understanding and tolerance, the designers said.
Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts, which helped enter "Pulse" into the international competition, said it is one of the most prominent contests in the world, with 100 categories in the art of design.
Apart from the prize won by "Pulse" in Italy, several other art pieces from the 2022 Lantern Festival have received accolades at the international MUSE Design Awards this year, according to the Kaohsiung City government.
