This is a set of promotional materials for the TaiwanFest 2008, an annual cultural event that exposes multiple facets of the Taiwanese culture to Toronto. The event is one of the biggest cultural events hosted by Vancouver as well as Toronto, and is rapidly growing.
This 30-second video poster plays with the idea of happiness being an elusive concept, and aims to be a Zen-like response to the entire act of seeking happiness. Sand is used as the chosen medium, since it contains references to nature, tranquility, and other characteristics associated with the Zen and inner peace. The concept is to conceal a message within the sand, and then to gradually reveal those messages throughout the search for happiness. This is achieved by concealing stenciled plates within the sand, containing messages that are only visible once the stenciled plates are lifted. The sand can then fall through and reveal a word or phrase to gradually construct one whole ‘answer’ to the search for happiness in a metaphorical sense.