Under the Lion Crotch is a music video for the Hong Kong indie band No One Remains Virgin, with animations by Wong Ping. After studying in Australia, Wong returned to Hong Kong, where he developed his signature animation style. Appearing throughout are elements of Western pop culture, the Japanese Superflat style, and the underground scene of Hong Kong—influences typically seen in Wong’s art. The opening scene, for example, depicts cherub-like figures playing jump rope. Their vests, reading ‘I ❤ HK’, and ‘HK ❤ You’, evoke Milton Glaser’s 1976 ‘I ❤ NY’ design, yet with a sardonic spin. Anxieties such as these are prevalent throughout the video, reflecting the economic promise Hong Kong seems to offer despite its growing inequality. Blissful music matched with dark lyrics—for example, ‘Our land is brutally torn apart by conglomerates’ or ‘their thriving business had left us homeless’—underscore such uneasy tensions. An island paradise can all too quickly be destroyed: features of the landscape transform into monstrous beings; once blissful figures gorily explode from frustration, stress, and rage.
Wong Ping (b.1984, Hong Kong) is an animator and graphic designer who has been releasing video works since 2010.
Ping’s work pairs an apparent innocence with a sinister undertone in a vividly coloured and dreamlike world that reflects modern society while alluding to social and political issues. Wong won the top prize at the 2nd Shenzhen Independent Animation Biennial in 2014. In 2020, he was nominated for an Ammodo Tiger Short Competition Award at International Film Festival Rotterdam as well as the Short Film Grand Jury Prize at Sundance Film Festival.