Over in Hong Kong, the Palace Museum has breathed new life into a host of artifacts. Throughout the venue, textiles now burst, blossom, billow, and buzz, transforming blank walls into vibrant tapestries. These immersive scenes make up the bulk of the museum’s first thematic, multimedia exhibition, which celebrates Hong Kong and China’s visual culture through one of their most prolific traditions: patterns.
Titled The Ways in Patterns, the exhibition reimagines the museum’s architecture, ceramics, and embroidered textiles across seven distinct spaces. These environments have each been designed with the help of digital technology, animating everything from a dragon snaking through swirling clouds to a cat eagerly bounding through an open courtyard. Walls suddenly become living canvases, unveiling a new dimension to historical patterns that, when left entirely static, would otherwise be lost.
To enhance the sense of wonder, some rooms even incorporate unexpected features beyond the museum’s walls. One space, for instance, is dominated by a reproduction of a porcelain bowl, its insides coated with countless intertwined flowers, each bowing to a gentle breeze. Another room exploits the ceiling above, showcasing delicate caisson designs punctuated by webs of interlocking animations. Here, too, the imagery of the dragon returns, this time flying across the ceiling with golden, shimmering scales.
“Traditional Chinese patterns are known for their enduring vibrancy and charm,” Leo Kung, the chairman of Hong Kong Palace Museum’s board, says in a statement. “The Ways in Patterns guide audiences into an immersive world of elegance within [those] traditional aesthetics.”
This “world of elegance” wouldn’t achieve nearly the same resonance if it weren’t for the museum’s meticulous curation. The Ways in Patterns relies heavily upon its source material, drawing from artifacts such as a decorative plate with peaches and bats, and a blue robe adorned with golden cranes and winding branches. By filtering these objects and their accompanying patterns through a contemporary lens, the “rich origins of these intricate designs” become all the more legible, the museum claims. Audience participation is also heavily encouraged, with an entire section dedicated to creating personal designs of swimming fish and soaring birds.
“This exhibition is a testament to our commitment to fostering mutual understanding and respect among different cultures,” Luo Xianliang, deputy director of the Palace Museum, adds.
The Ways in Patterns is currently on view at the Hong Kong Palace Museum until October 13, 2025.
At the Palace Museum in Hong Kong, traditional patterns and textiles have been reimagined and animated through digital technology.
The Ways in Patterns offers visitors an immersive and dynamic glimpse into Hong Kong and China’s visual culture, showcasing seven distinct environments in which patterns come to life.
The Ways of Patterns is now on view through October 13, 2025.
