The Lunar Rabbit
Liverpool Chinese New Year 2023
After the incredible success of ‘The Water Tiger’ projections in 2022, Focal Studios partnered with artists Eleonora Asparuhova and Laura Sullivan to create a magnificent focus for Chinese New Year celebrations at the Bombed Out Church. ‘The Lunar Rabbit’, celebrating The Year of the Rabbit, took the form of a 6-minute projection show on the tower of the church, and a community light and art installation in the grounds of the church.
Eleonora, a talented illustrator & 2D Animator based in Liverpool, was commissioned to illustrate the 4-scene story of a girl who became friends with the curious water rabbit. The adventures of the rabbit and the girl were illustrated using Procreate for iPad, whilst maintaining authentic oriental design and colour palettes. This created the foundations to the story that were confined to the architecture of the church. Focal Studios animated the illustrations to bring the rabbit and young girl’s adventure to life. and constructed a contemporary story about hope, developed with Pagoda Arts and the local Chinese community. The story reflected themes in response to the Rabbit's personality, such as vigilance, wit, quick-mindedness, and ingenuity, as well as stories and aspirations of community members from other nations that celebrated the lunar new year.
A timelapse showing the creation of ‘Nian’, a legendary Chinese creature that was said to attack villages on New Year's Eve, inspiring the tradition of scaring it away with red decorations and fireworks. A depiction of this story was illustrated and animated for visitors to enjoy.
Focal Studios used their projection mapping expertise and created a show that was projected onto the 130ft tower, made possible with the use of three, edge blended Panasonic laser projectors.
Over 4000 people spectated the projections over the course of three evenings.
The rabbit introduced itself at the beginning of the show as it bounced down the prominent architectural features of the church tower, and beneath the magical waves that had a visual significance throughout the duration of the narrative. The encompassed authentic Chinese scenery, from waterfalls, forests and traditional Chinese villages, to a large castle that provided a poignant finale to a remarkable celebration of the journey of the girl and the rabbit, whilst also welcoming the new lunar year to the crowds that spectated the show from below.
The young girl meets the rabbit in a magical forest before embarking on a celebratory journey.
Audiences watch as the tower is projected with fireworks celebrating the arrival of the new lunar year.
Community Engagement, inclusivity and relevance
In partnership with Pagoda Arts, sessions with members of the local Chinese community were organised to generate ideas for the story that would unfold in the projections. This allowed community members to make a direct contribution to the development of the event's narrative, ensuring the content displayed was authentic to Chinese tradition and specifically relevant to the local Chinese community. Responding to the symbolism of the Water Rabbit, this also encouraged participants to explore an appreciation of the natural world and how it could be conveyed as part of the tale.
In addition to the projection show that lit the 200-year-old Leece Street Building for three evenings, a giant rabbit head installation greeted guests as they entered the grounds. The head was projected onto using a single ViewSonic laser projector and was projection mapped using specialist mapping software. The installation was designed to run on a loop throughout the duration of the event using an unmanned media server, creating a magical entrance to the event and encouraging curiosity for children and adults alike.
Over 2000 zhezhi rabbits, made by local primary school children, were planted in the ground around the rabbit head. At night, these were lit using ambient lighting controlled by a show control unit, accompanied by an ambient music loop, composed by musician and foley artist, Chris Howard. This made the spectacle even more magical as over 4000 visitors visited over the duration of the three-night event, adding to the overall celebration of the Chinese New Year. Chris Howard composed a 4-scene soundtrack, captivating the tale of The Lunar Rabbit, and an ambient loop for the rabbit installation within the gardens. Recordings taken from Liverpool’s Chinese Youth Orchestra where used to create an authentic and relevant soundtrack that resonated with audiences as they watched and listened to the moving story.
Visitors were greeted by a projection mapped rabbit head, surrounded by a wave of zhezhi rabbits.
The local Chinese community joined primary schools in supplying messages of hope and good wishes for the new lunar year. These were curated into a moving finale as the girl and her new friend flew across the tower. These messages were also displayed amongst the zhezhi rabbit installation and projected onto the rabbit head.
A show to remember
The event was held at the Bombed Out Church during Chinese New Year 2023 in Liverpool and was part of the city's free festival. On the 20th, 21st, and 22nd of January, the public was invited to view the stunning projection show and light installation in the evening, and on the 22nd, community workshops took place during the day, where the public was invited to create Chinese zhezhi rabbits containing messages of hope for 2023.