SHISUO Design Office Unveils "The Full Moon" Public Art Installation at Shanghai’s West Bund

Invited by the Power Station of Art (PSA), SHISUO Design Office has officially unveiled "The Full Moon," a striking new urban public art installation created to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival in Shanghai. Exhibited prominently at the West Bund, the temporary installation drew large crowds of local residents and visitors alike, transforming the urban waterfront into a site of cultural reflection and shared community experience. Curated by Han Shuang, the project was brought to life through a creative collaboration with Shi Qinling, an esteemed inheritor of traditional Shanghai-style paper-cutting arts.

The installation centers around three deeply rooted motifs in classical Chinese culture: the moon, the rabbit, and the delicate craft of paper-cutting. Across various global cultures and historical traditions, the rabbit holds a unique and enduring place in the human imagination, standing out as one of the few animal figures universally beloved and recognized. In the context of classical Chinese Mid-Autumn folklore, the rabbit is traditionally depicted as a constant companion to the moon. Within this poetic pairing, the moon symbolizes the cyclical waxing and waning of existence, cosmic time, and eternity, while the rabbit serves as a rich metaphor for the vitality, growth, and flourishing of all living beings in the natural world.

By merging these traditional narratives with contemporary architectural and artistic techniques, SHISUO Design Office sought to create a spatial experience that bridges historical folklore with modern urban life. The installation utilizes innovative materials to reinterpret classic visual tropes. Notably, the rabbit patterns integrated into the structure’s design make use of crackle-textured acrylic panels. These specialized panels interact dynamically with natural light by day and artificial illumination by night, casting intricate patterns and shadows that evoke the delicate aesthetic of traditional paper-cutting while maintaining a modern, tactile presence in the urban landscape.

The design of the installation goes beyond a simple visual display, offering visitors shifting perspectives depending on their vantage point. Photographed extensively by Jianyuan Ye, the structure reveals different phases of the moon as viewers move around and through the installation. This clever spatial choreography allows the public to experience the lunar cycle in miniature, drawing a direct parallel between the vastness of the cosmos and the intimate scale of public art. The interplay of transparency, reflection, and texture creates an immersive environment that encourages passersby to pause, look closer, and engage with the public space in a renewed way.

The exhibition at the West Bund highlights the growing role of temporary public art in activating post-industrial urban spaces. As one of Shanghai’s premier cultural hubs, the Power Station of Art frequently serves as a catalyst for creative interventions that bridge contemporary art and everyday civic life. "The Full Moon" successfully leveraged this prominent location to engage a broad cross-section of the public, proving that traditional cultural narratives can find fresh, relevant expressions through thoughtful architectural and spatial design. The collaboration between SHISUO Design Office, curator Han Shuang, and paper-cutting inheritor Shi Qinling underscores a shared commitment to preserving intangible cultural heritage while embracing contemporary fabrication methods. As large crowds gathered along the riverfront to experience the installation, the project stood as a testament to the power of design to foster community connection, cultural pride, and imaginative storytelling within the modern metropolis.