Still bemused by the huge porcine lantern installations currently adorning Chinatown that got roasted by folks for its “dirty” skin? Welp, there’s apparently a reason for their brown, patchy looks and dusky demeanor.
Responding to a query from STOMP, the head of Marketing Publicity of the Chinatown Chinese New Year Celebration 2019 Organising Committee (what a mouthful) stated that the designs were crucial to their theme this year.
“This year, our design was also created to portray real pigs, hence the pigs are not entirely baby pink in color,” said Philemon Loh, adding that the brown shading was necessary for contouring effects. If the entire pig is covered in baby pink, it would look pale and be closer to white in color when lighted up.
In response to suggestions to have the pig lanterns look cutesy and Disney-like, Loh asserted that the committee “prides (itself)” in sticking to Chinese traditions instead of “conforming to commercialization”.
Still, that’s not stopping folks from continuing to roast the porcine effigies.
If you do like them, however, the official opening ceremony and street light-up of Chinatown’s Chinese New Year celebrations will be kicking off this Sunday night.
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