Under the Banyan Tree

Chrissy Lau completes a commission for 'Under The Banyan Tree' magazine in Asia.

The project was to draw the intricate details of a fascinating Chinese historical door handle which feature on the door frames, walls and columns in the mountain villages of Huangshan. The delicate and elegant carvings from both the Ming and Qing dynasties are set in stone, brick and wood and depict plum blossom and bamboo foliage amongst the 12 creatures of the Chinese zodiac.  Chrissy has represented this design beautifully for the magazine which also talks of how "the permeable doors adorned with this typical motif were usually west-facing, allowing for wind to flow through the property, for natural ventilation. They were also a source of natural light. None of the doors or windows were built facing south, because this was the direction that evil spirits were said to travel. Evil spirits would be further confused by the buildings being constructed around zig-zag walkways".