JAMSTYLE JARO in Hong Kong: a dragon drinks lemon tea and a Vermilion Bird slurps wonton noodles at Tai Kwun

A Blue Dragon drinks lemon tea and a White Tiger eats xiaolongbao: in JAMSTYLE JARO’s paintings, familiar names become wide-eyed children in animal costumes. JAM STYLE meets Hong Kong runs from October 6 to 31, 2026, at Touch Gallery in Tai Kwun, Central. It combines the exaggerated expressions of manga characters with a painterly use of light, shade and volume. The exhibition is ongoing, but today is Sunday, outside the gallery’s Tuesday–Saturday hours listed by Tai Kwun.

Eating and drinking: how eyes and hands change the picture

In Blue Dragon drinking lemon tea, a grey-blue dragon head fills almost the entire upper half. Small yellow horns and white teeth surround the child’s brow and eyes, while a straw connects the outsized head to a drink carton small enough to fit in a hand. Before deciding how the character feels, look at the proportions: the costume hood is enormous, the hand and drink tiny. Eyebrows, eyelids and the corners of the mouth consequently become particularly forceful details. The nearly flat-coloured background also makes the facial shadows stand out.

In White Tiger eating hot xiaolongbao, the child squeezes its eyes shut and opens its mouth. A spoon holds one dumpling, the other hand grips chopsticks, and a steamer sits in front. Vermilion Bird eating wonton noodles instead uses a frontal, wide-eyed gaze and dangling noodles to lead the eye towards the bowl. Both show someone eating, but closed eyelids and a direct gaze create different expressions. Food is more than a marker of place: it helps organise hands, mouths and the direction in which we look.

Compare four characters on canvases of the same size

Black Tortoise enjoying tea time slows the pace. The green-and-yellow character holds a patterned cup and saucer, with a small snake-like shape on its head echoing the costume’s identity. All four works are acrylic on canvas, measuring 65 × 53 cm. Consistent size and medium make it easier to compare their visual decisions. Start with costume colours, then look at the hands and tableware: the same large-head, small-body proportions shift their emphasis between drinking tea, eating noodles and enjoying dumplings.

JARO began with manga and was also influenced by Western classical painting. In 2014, he co-founded JAMSTYLE with designer Misa, extending the mischievous, large-eyed children across LINE stickers, magazines, advertising, installations and physical artworks. A phone sticker has to communicate an emotion quickly within a very small image. In front of a canvas, viewers can pause over shadows, brushwork and posture, considering what remains when the same character moves between media.

From stickers to canvas: planning a Tai Kwun gallery visit

The exhibition’s Hong Kong connection emerges through drinks, snacks and the characters’ actions, rather than simply putting a place name in the background. Look at each of the four artwork images separately, then compare them side by side at the same size, noting changes in eyelids, eyebrows and mouth corners. The gallery catalogue also lists smaller works measuring 38 × 45 cm. Availability changes, so anyone interested in collecting should rely on the gallery’s current response.

Touch Gallery is in Rooms 202 and 204, 2/F, Block 3, Tai Kwun, 10 Hollywood Road. Tai Kwun’s tenant page lists the gallery as open Tuesday–Saturday, 11am–7pm. The heritage compound itself has longer hours, so access to Tai Kwun does not mean the gallery is open. To visit before October 31, browse the exhibition’s artwork catalogue or call 2562 9000 to confirm the day’s arrangements before adding it to a walk around Central.