LION BOY, DANCE | THE RED SERIES

Summary

Painted during Chinese New Year, Lion Boy, Dance captures a fleeting moment of childhood resistance and wonder. The work is based on the artist’s son at three years old, sitting beneath a lion dance head — caught between tradition, play, and refusal. While surrounded by the festive expectations of celebration and performance, he remains stubbornly still, unwilling to dance. 

The distorted brushwork and intense red backdrop reflect both the overwhelming energy of the season and the emotional honesty of early childhood. The lion head, usually symbolic of strength, luck, and movement, becomes oversized and almost consuming, contrasting with the smallness and vulnerability of the child beneath it. 

Part memory, part portrait, the painting speaks to the tension between cultural ritual and individuality — the quiet humour of parenting, and the beauty found in children who do not always follow the script.