Every autumn, amidst the hustle and bustle of life, memories of the old Mid-Autumn Festival nights suddenly come flooding back, the shimmering light from the lantern hanging on the porch, the bustling sound of the lion drum, the chirping of children carrying lanterns under the light. It is not only a childhood game, but also a symbol of reunion, a thread connecting people together through many generations.
However, in recent years, traditional Mid-Autumn lanterns have been gradually overshadowed by industrial products, flashing light bulbs and brightly colored plastic. Paper lanterns and battery-powered plastic lanterns are convenient and cheap, but they lack a cultural soul. Amidst the many changes of the times, the art exhibition "Lam" organized by Doan Thai Cuc Huong has brought many young people back to their memories, reviving the beauty that used to be a part of the soul of the Vietnamese Mid-Autumn Festival.
“Lam” is not simply an exhibition, but an artistic journey to restore traditional Mid-Autumn Festival symbols. Each lantern in the exhibition is handcrafted from Do paper and bamboo - materials closely associated with Vietnamese life.
Instead of using conventional watercolors or industrial acrylics, the founder Doan Thai Cuc Huong chose earthy colors to create a rustic, sustainable color tone. Not only that, she also experimented with natural ingredients such as cajuput, turmeric, and beetroot to expand the color palette, making each product both unique and environmentally friendly. These natural, warm colors bring a rustic, close feeling. This choice both preserves the originality of the craft and demonstrates the spirit of environmental protection - one of the important messages that "Lam" wants to convey.
Do paper, which was originally used for calligraphy, folk painting or printing Buddhist scriptures, has now become the soul of Mid-Autumn lanterns. Rustic yet sophisticated, simple yet durable, Do paper brings a feeling of both familiarity and novelty, evoking in the viewer an indescribable emotion.
The remarkable point is that all the lamp models in the exhibition are inherited by Cuc Huong from the ancient lamp designs of our ancestors - models that are now more or less absent in modern life. Cuc Huong shared, "All the lamp models in the exhibition, I was inspired by the ancient Mid-Autumn Festival lamp models that our ancestors made in the past, which people do not make much anymore. I want to bring them back to show everyone how skillful and talented our ancestors were in the past. And with my personal perspective, I want to build and convey a story into each product."
The shapes of carp, dragon, shrimp, fish, butterfly, mantis... are both familiar and new. They are not just children's games, but have become cultural symbols, carrying the breath of a Mid-Autumn Festival full of identity.
In the founder's opinion, beauty does not necessarily have to be brilliant and dazzling. Cuc Huong confided: "Not everything that is brilliant and bright is beautiful and eye-catching. With each person, each soul is different, everyone will see different beauty in each product. The products I make, I especially want to dedicate to adults - to send to children in the form of adults."
This is why "Lam" becomes a special space of dialogue: between past and present, between craft and modern aesthetic needs, between the soul of a child and the experience of adulthood.
The exhibition "Lam" takes place from September 6 to September 14, 2025, at Ai Tra art space, 217A Truong Trinh, Hanoi, open to the public from 9am to 5pm daily.
Continuing that journey, "Lam" will be present in Ho Chi Minh City from October 3 to 12, 2025, at Quang San Art Museum, 189B/3 Nguyen Van Huong, Thao Dien, Thu Duc, open from 9:00 to 16:30. Not only a place for exhibition, "Lam" is also a cultural meeting place for people and tourists of Hanoi and Saigon during the Mid-Autumn Festival.
At the “Exhibition”, each light emitted from the lantern not only lights up the room, but also lights up memories. It is the light of cultural heritage, the light of creativity, the light of a sustainable spirit. The exhibition not only brings an emotional Mid-Autumn Festival, but also opens up a new vision: how traditional art continues to live in modern life, and so that every autumn, the Mid-Autumn lanterns still shine brightly in the memories of Vietnamese people.
