Photo courtesy of Pacific Place

British-born artist Pauline Yau has had large exhibitions before – but none quite like this. Birds of a Feather Flock Together is a seasonal display at Pacific Place,  displaying 30 handmade paper birds and a 38,000 feather chandelier in celebration of the Year of the Rooster.

Since moving to Hong Kong 20 years ago, Pauline’s paper sculptures have gained notoriety with a series of large projects for luxury and international brands, including a huge Chinese New Year dragon for Van Cleef & Arpels, five projects with luxury retailers Lane Crawford, flower decorations for agnès b. and Christian Dior, as well as decadent headdresses for local Hong Kong eco-fashion NGO Redress. We chat with Pauline about her latest exhibition. 

Photo courtesy of Pacific Place

This is my first time doing an installation in a mall... I was working with a local production agency who came up with the idea of installing thousands of golden feathers hanging in Pacific Place's Garden Court.

I was on my way to New Zealand when... I stopped in Hong Kong—and I never left. It's a city full of opportunities and it created an environment for my creative work. 

Most of my inspiration comes from nature... living on Lamma Island has a big influence. I love bringing together organic creations to bring some softness to urban Hong Kong.

Photo courtesy of Pacific Place

We only had two months... to decide on which birds we wanted to create, produce the sculptures, source the paper in the right material and colours—which meant I had less than a month to create all 30 birds.

I use paint and gilding sometimes... but eight years ago I moved to using paper as my main medium. It's accessible and I like that it resembles the natural life cycle. Like flowers, it gets reused and recycled: it has a lifespan.

Meeting deadlines can be quite difficult... as it takes a lot more effort to form paper pieces together into an artwork or sculpture. It can be very time consuming to perfect the details.

Photo courtesy of Pacific Place

I'm very inspired by the work of Rohan Brown... his paper art is so unbelievably intricate. I also love Dale Chihuly, the American blown-glass sculptor, and the English environmental artist and sculptor, Andy Goldsworthy.

My favourite bird is definitely the rooster... I've given each rooster its own character and expression, so they all have their own distinct personality. My son was actually born in the year of the rooster, and he is a very curious creature indeed.

It’s the Year of Rooster so we wanted to use the opportunity... to educate people, especially children, about the birds. Next to every single sculpture is information for people to understand more about them, as well as speakers where people can listen to the sounds they make. It’s more immersive than simply looking.

Birds of a Feather Flock Together by Pauline Yau will be exhibited in Pacific Place until February 7