“You dirty pig”: Chinatown’s “hideous” Chinese New Year decor draws flak

The annual Chinese New Year Decorations have drawn flak from visitors for looking “dirty” and hideous”.

2019 is the year of the pig, according to the Chinese zodiac calendar, but an installation of pigs at the centre of the enclave has drawn the ire of several Singaporeans who feel the pigs neither look festive nor spread cheer, like the installations of years past.

This year, Chinatown features almost 180 lighting fixtures of piglets for their festive decor. The main attraction is a group of 9.5-meter-high, 7-meter-wide pig-shaped giant lights, located near Upper Cross Street. It is this attraction that has drawn criticism for not being aesthetically pleasing.

One couple who spoke to the Chinese daily excoriated the design of this year’s installation. The retired couple who are in their sixties went to Chinatown specifically to see this year’s Chinese New Year decorations but were left disappointed.

Noting that the pigs at Chinatown look grimy instead of cute, clean and adorable, the couple told reporters: “The colors are not powdery (pink), and those browns look dirty, like ‘dirty pig’.”

Several others online have chimed in and criticised the installation. One netizen called this year’s design “worse than previous years” and “hideous,” while another asked: “Who is the designer? Who is the consultant? I would like to have a word.”

Another netizen noted that the large pigs look as though they are “ready to be slaughtered”:

The decorations at Chinatown has always been rather hideous when it comes to the main "attraction". 2017's rooster looked like a tea pot with a rooster's head for a spout. But the pigs really look worse than the previous years. 真的是一年比一年差…

— entrydenied (@entrydeniedJPCH) January 5, 2019