Hong Kong-based balloon sculptor Wilson Pang Sze-tai achieved an awe-inspiring breakthrough and milestone in his 12-year-long career, as last week, he unveiled a magnificent dragon piece that broke the Guinness World Record for its type.
'The World's Largest Balloon Sculpture of a Dragon'
The sculpture itself measures an enormous 137 feet long and is comprised of over 38,000 biodegradable balloons that were all bound by hand, depicting what the record-keeping organization dubbed the "largest balloon sculpture of a dragon" in the world.
It is currently installed as a key attraction at the TMTPlaza shopping mall located in the Tuen Mun area in Hong Kong. The design itself was decided as such to celebrate the upcoming Feb. 10 ushering of the New Year of the Dragon.
Pang told the South China Morning Post that he feels "fulfilled" after achieving the recognition of an international organization and doing so "using the traditional Chinese symbol of a dragon." He added that he wanted to showcase to the world that Hong Kong retained its "cultural identity."
That said, he had reached a low point in his career once when he was still working as a hired magician. Balloon art wasn't even part of his plans, neither were grand projects like this recent one.
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Pang's Journey of Reaching New Heights with Balloon Sculpture
The then-magician told a story of when a client threw "a bunch of balloons and an air pump" at him just as he was about to leave after performing at a "kids' birthday party," saying, "I felt pretty disrespected, if I'm being honest."
At the time, Pang's arsenal of balloon sculptures was restricted to what he calls "hot dogs," but the "oohs and aahs" he would get from children watching him perform turned into a key motivation of his, and eventually he took up the practice seriously.
Pang then gave himself a two-year timeline to turn making balloon art into a "full-time job." He then founded his company after that proclamation and has been honing his skills with fellow balloon artists and mentors from different countries like Taiwan, Singapore, the UK, and Japan since 2012.
In 2016 and 2018, he collected wins at the World Balloon Convention and became a two-time champion of the competition. He has also received a placement within the Asia Book of Records for creating the "biggest balloon Christmas wreath" sculpture.
When the Pandemic hit, not unlike the rest of the world, Pang also experienced a new wave of hardships that made him question his line of work. Thankfully, he said, he held onto his guiding purpose as to why he took up the craft: to let others experience "magic."
That is when he took up the challenge of beating a balloon world record, and with the help of his Taiwanese mentor Ho Kunlung-who has co-credits alongside Pang in the Guinness record-alongside students from the City University's "Balloon Art Club," they were able to break through the previous record.
Although the sculpture will begin to deflate after two weeks of being installed, he says sharing his success with the masses feels momentous despite the fleeting nature of his craft.
