- Artisan in his 50s is also known for his bamboo art, and he shares how his childhood experiences sparked his interest in making figurines from heated maltose
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Louis To, also known as Sugarman, has a shop in Cheung Chau. Photo: Xiaomei ChenAll eyes are on Louis To Wun as he deftly pinches and pulls a heated piece of sugar, sculpting it into a myriad of lifelike animals and enchanting creatures.
For more than a decade, the Hongkonger has been practising the traditional Chinese craft of making sugar figurines in his quaint shop in Cheung Chau.
Affectionately known as Sugarman, the artisan in his 50s described his work as being “free-spirited”.
“What I like about the art is that it gives a feeling of magic that would ‘wow’ people, and they cannot know what it will be like until I finish sculpting,” To explained.
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Growing up without a television in southern China, To recalled his excitement whenever the itinerant confectioners arrived in his neighbourhood: “You could only meet them at big events. Some only came to our neighbourhood once in a few years.”
Despite having no money to buy sweets, To would stand at the stall all day watching as the craftspeople transformed blobs of sugar into animal sculptures.
“Even now, I can still sharply remember how the confectioner dressed and the straw hat he wore ... I have always wanted to make sugar figurines – it is part of my childhood memory,” the artist reminisced.
“That feeling of joy and amazement is etched in my mind.”
Becoming a sugar artist
With a history spanning over 600 years, sugar art is recognised as an intangible cultural heritage of Hong Kong, and To is one of the few masters who continue to practise this craft.
By the age of 38, To had already made a name for himself as a contemporary artist renowned for his bamboo sculptures. But he hoped to rekindle his childhood fascination with sugar art.
For six months, the artist experimented with various types of sugar and temperatures.
“The skill is not difficult to learn as long as you are willing to try and are not afraid of failure,” To said, adding that he endured blisters from the hot sugar and once even had a pot explode.
He highlighted the importance of timing in creating sugar figurines. Shaping them requires the sugar to be between 60 and 80 degrees Celsius, with only about three minutes before it becomes too hard to mould.
At first, To only made the sugar art for his own joy, but his wife encouraged him to share his masterpieces.
“But then I realised that introducing my work to the public ignited a new spark within me, especially when customers made unexpected requests,” he said.
The artist recalled an old man who wanted to try the candy but had diabetes. This prompted To to adapt his recipe by replacing maltose with isomalt, a sugar substitute safe for people with diabetes.
“Even now, I am still learning about sugar art,” To shared. “When you are passionate about something, it gradually evolves and develops.”
How traditional crafts can grow
For To, making sugar figurines is not about earning a living but building bonds with people. His passion has even taken him to Europe where schools invited him to showcase the ancient art.
Sometimes, instead of selling his candy, the artist proposes a trade, asking customers to share a story or showcase their talents as he sculpts the sugar.
“Some people talk about their childhood memories of sugar art and their feelings. There are certain things that could only be shared in that moment and not everything can be obtained with money,” To said.
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Just as he is always developing his sugar art, To hopes other traditional crafts can also evolve.
“The meaning of ‘conservation’ in Chinese is to protect and grow. But in Hong Kong, conservation is confining the object in a glass box. The art is dead, and I can’t see its development,” he said, adding that his other art fuses new elements into Chinese tradition.
For the Tai Hang fire dragon dance last month, To crafted a two-metre-long bamboo sculpture that was a fusion of three creatures in Chinese mythology: the lion, dragon and qilin. The music for the performance also broke from convention by incorporating jazz music.
“Instead of copying old practices, I want to do something the world has never seen before,” To said.
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