Mural Painting

This village house has been abandoned for decades, with only its entrance wall remaining today. Mui Tsz Lam was once known for its plum trees, and thus Human Ip painted plums and plum blossoms across the doorway. Perched among the branches are birds including the Scarlet Minivet, Swinhoe's White-eye, Great Tit, and Greater Coucal. The Greater Coucal, locally nicknamed “hairy chicken” or “blind woman’s chicken,” was once commonly seen in the village. Villagers reportedly brewed it into medicinal wine believed to strengthen the body.

The white flower depicted beneath the birds is Perpetual Begonia (Begonia longifolia), a rare species in Hong Kong but commonly found around Mui Tsz Lam. It is also one of the key conservation species of the Forest Village project. Visitors arriving in May may have the chance to see the flowers bloom in the wild. The remaining birds were all observed by Human Ip during her residency in the village.

As suggested by its title, this mural evokes a sense of calmness and rural ease. The yellow cattle were painted based on buffalo that Human Ip observed in the area. Even today, buffalo continue to roam around Mui Tsz Lam, Kop Tong, and Lai Chi Wo, often grazing or resting in the terraced fields before the village.

The lychee tree painted in the background represents the “King Lychee Tree” within the Feng Shui Woods, said to be one of the oldest lychee trees in the region. The tree still survives today and flowers between February and March, though it no longer bears fruit. Watching cattle after school, golden terraced fields, and flying kites were all cherished childhood memories of former villagers. Villagers once tied cattle beneath the lychee tree, where their manure nourished the soil, while children rested and played in its shade.

This work makes use of both the interior and exterior walls left behind by a ruined house to depict a mother and child civet — animals no longer commonly seen in the village today. Civets once frequently appeared around the settlement at night. Because visibility in the dark was poor, villagers often recognised them mainly by their distinctive pale white noses, leading to the local nickname “white-nosed civet.”

This community art project was created in collaboration with local art organizations "Wahayeah Sketch Group" and Lions Club of Mount Davis Centennial. Participants were invited to experience the rural environment and creatively interpret the habitats of Mui Tsz Lam through painting. To date, ten frog species have been recorded in the area.

Also created in collaboration with "Wahayeah Sketch Group" and Lions Club of Mount Davis Centennial, this mural project encouraged participants to explore the countryside and depict the butterfly habitats of Mui Tsz Lam. Featured species include the Common Mapwing and White Dragontail. The White Dragontail is one of the key conservation butterfly species of the Forest Village project. The Common Mapwing was historically nicknamed the “Map Butterfly” because the intricate black lines across its wings resemble the latitude and longitude lines of a map.

This community project was created together with Sha Tau Kok Central Primary School. Guided by Human Ip, more than twenty primary school students collaborated to paint the rich streamside habitats of Mui Tsz Lam.

In 2021, an injured young owl appeared in Mui Tsz Lam Staff rescued it and transferred it to Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden for treatment. After one year of medical care and attentive nurturing, the owl successfully recovered and returned to the wild.

Owls are not commonly seen in Mui Tsz Lam, so artist Human Ip painted the owl's appearance both as a chick and after growing up on the wall of an old house in Mui Tsz Lam, preserving a record of this rare occurrence.

The Rose Myrtle, also known as "Shan Nian"(山稔), is a common fruit found in villages. Flower of Rose Myrtle is large and beautiful, brilliantly variable in color, starting as rose-pink when it first blooms. Its fruits are abundant; the fleshy pulp of the berry is sweet with an aromatic fragrance, making it a delicious dried fruit that villagers enjoy eating.

French-Chinese mixed heritage artist Dominique Chan uses vivid colours to document the rural scenes he observes in everyday village life, including farming activities, soaring birds, and village residents.

Dominique Chan met his wife, a native resident of Kat O, while they were living in the Netherlands, where, like many indigenous villagers from Hong Kong’s New Territories at the time, she had emigrated to Europe and worked in Chinese restaurants. It was there that she met Dominique, who had travelled to the Netherlands to study art. The couple now live in Kat O, where colourful murals painted by Dominique can also be found outside their home.