Morning Light
About Morning Light
As artists and collaborators, Aaron Santiago and I were asked to create a tea house in the mediums of immersive design and creative technology for the first ever Cha Cha Festival in downtown New York City.
Inspired by the art of tea leaf reading and the mysticism of tarot and I Ching, we designed and built an immersive installation that senses a tea cup and offers a unique astrological reading to the participant. The visual design and audio landscape of the tea house is also an homage to mountain landscapes where tea high elevation, like oolong, is harvested.
Morning Light leverages interactivity and generative artificial intelligence to create both a social and personalized experience. The tea house provides inspiration for how new rituals can be designed.
Photo by Russel Low
Tea Tasting Experience
Working closely with ChiCha San Chen NY, we incorporated their bespoke oolong tea tasting experience that features five different roasts harvested from the Lishan Mountain in Taiwan. The tasting serves as an optional but strongly encouraged pre-show before entering the installation.
About Cha Cha Festival
CHA CHA is an immersive festival inspired by tea and its rituals open four consecutive weekends starting February 1 during Lunar New Year 2025. Through tea’s myriad forms — aroma, texture, color and flavor, visitors will experience innovative interpretations of how we gather to share tea and more.
The public festival took place throughout the 40,000-square-foot Water Street Projects exhibition and community space located on the fifth and sixth floors of WSA, an iconic skyscraper and cultural hub in Lower Manhattan (161 Water Street). Conceived by Karen Wong, the presentation highlights five artists/designers commissioned to re-imagine a tea house inspired by five culturally significant Asian teas: chai, hojicha, lotus, oolong, and pu-erh.
Photos by Russel Low
Final Experience
Filmed & Edited by Sania Bhatia
Role: Artist, Designer, Creative Director
