A century of Coke’s iconic bottle recreated by local artists

Chan Cheok Wa (left), Gigi Lee (second left), Yolanda Kog (middle), João Jorge Magalhães (second right), and Catherine Cheong (right)

The eight colorfully painted coke bottles currently showcased along the avenue of the newly inaugurated Broadway Macau also showcase the creativity of local artists, which was put to use to mark the 100th anniversary of Coca-Cola’s iconic bottle.
Under the theme of “Broadway in your eyes,” the project, which was initiated by Galaxy Macau, seeks to evoke public nostalgia of the Coca-Cola bottle as a household item, which has been incorporated into individual art pieces each featuring a distinctive appeal, not dissimilar to that of the traditional form.
Chan Cheok Wa, whose father used to be a painter for the brand’s Macau franchise during the 1960s, was invited to contribute to the event. One of his two bottles, displayed at the Broadway Macau opening, was covered entirely in contrasting, vivid colors to reflect the fresh elements introduced to the resort.
“The Broadway one is rather an innovative design, with the Broadway venue design concepts integrated into it. It represents a lively, colorful and vibrant scene,” Chan Cheok Wa noted.
Based on the original concept of the traditional coke bottle, with which most of us are familiar, another of his bottles highlights its shape in a more complex manner. “The first one is rather simple whereas the second one focuses on the texture inside the glass bottle, which is expressed in more complicated details,” explained the painter.
The Times’ design editor, João Magalhães, is another Macanese artist taking part in the event. He said that he derived inspiration from the Chinese divine creature, the dragon, which resulted in his piece, “The Dragon Turn.”
“I was looking at one image at one of the temples in Macau. If I’m not mistaken, it’s Kun Iam Tong; they have a wall with dragons. I was thinking, ‘okay, let’s do a dragon turning around the bottle, looking like one of the pillars at the temple,’” João Magalhães said. “I was thinking of something about happiness, good luck and good fortune.”
Catherine, a multimedia designer who painted one of the bottles hoped that Broadway Macau would be “a new stage” for local creative minds to showcase their potential.  Staff reporter