The Mango Tree

In a quaint little lane, a luscious mango tree leans against the wall of Au.Dot, an avant-garde design boutique. For decades, the tree has provided fresh air and welcome shade, slowly and quietly stretching its branches out over the sidewalk. Artist Tsai Hsiao-Chi was a fabric design major at University of the Arts, London. In collaboration with sculptor Yoshikawa Kimiya, Tsai takes unremarkable pieces of soft fabric, cuts it into flamboyantly abstract shapes, and weaves those shapes amongst the branches of the mango tree. The effect is that of a cloud floating in midair. Her work has transformed a plain-looking mango tree into a kaleidoscope: an exuberant sculpture that evokes boundless joy in passers-by.