Hoo Fan Chon is a Malaysian visual art practitioner based in George Town, Penang. By reframing everyday life with irony and wry humour, his works observe the oscillations and toggles between social classes, the official and the informal, the highbrow and the lowbrow.

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Hoo Fan Chon (b. 1982) is a Malaysian visual art practitioner based in George Town, Penang. By reframing everyday life with irony and wry humour, his works observe oscillations and assimilations between social classes, the official and the informal, the highbrow and the lowbrow.

︎ email ︎ cv

Mud-chihoko on Komtar: 
A Proposal for Nagoya Municipal Diplomatic Gift to George Town, Penang 



Exhibition view (George Town MY) Mud-chihoko wooden sculpture (detail) Superimposed rendering Superimposed rendering (detail) Installation view Installation view Exhibition view (Minatomachi Art Table, Nagoya JP) Exhibition view 3D rendering of Mud-chihoko


Nagoya Cultural Promotion Unit
2020 Feb, bilateral visual art exhibition in Nagoya Port City and George Town Penang (JP & MY)

Curated by Shinya Aota & Hoo Fan Chon

This project was supported by Japan Foundation Kuala Lumpur (JFKL).

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Mud-chihoko on Komtar: A Proposal for Nagoya Municipal Diplomatic Gift to George Town, Penang
 Installation: digital prints, 3D printed maquette, woodcarving, dimension variable, 2021

3D Modelling: Darrel Chia Chee Sum


Whether or not the Shachihoko 鯱鉾 is derived from the Makara मकर, the ancient Vedic hybrid sea creature, or Chiwen 螭吻, the Chinese dragon on imperial roof decorations, it is arguably one of Nagoya city’s most recognisable cultural symbols. This creature is believed to have the ability to ward off evil spirits and prevent fire hazards. It was even featured in the 1873 Vienna International Exposition, not only representing Nagoya but Japan as a nation. A fabled fish with a leonine head and a skyward-pointing tail, its likeness was frequently used as roof ornaments during the Edo period, where it adorned castles – including Nagoya Castle – as well as tower gates and samurai homes. In studying the making of cultural symbols, my work engages with the practice of exchanging municipal diplomatic gifts. Speculating on such an exchange between the port cities of Nagoya and George Town, I propose roof ornaments featuring mudskippers to be installed as architectural features atop Komtar, Penang’s iconic multicomplex high-rise.

See also “How to Dance Like a Mudskipper” and “Jalan Jalan Japan, Tobi Tobi Haze” 

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© Hoo Fan Chon