2019
Drawing pen
24.5 x 8 cm
A few days ago, my brother said to my pet dog on the mountain, "if you go around, tigers will come out to eat you!" There are no tigers in Taiwan, but there is an endangered species of Taiwanese native cat, which is called leopard cat. They differ in only one word in Chinese. (tiger 老虎/ leopard cat 石虎)
This time, I used the form of a bookplate to express the theme of leopard cat. In order to present a look similar to a classic bookplate, I drew it in the realistic and gorgeous feeling, just like a etching.
The leopard cat sits in the orange trees and flowers.
Orange symbolizes auspicious and good fortune in Chinese traditional culture,
I hope they can have a better future.
Above the leopard cat is the spirits of the killed leopard cats,
who floats upward with the clouded leopard, wishing them to rest in peace.
At the top is the Formosan clouded leopard.
This is a classic method of representing the aura of the icon in Gothic altar paintings
(the style of Marienaltar in Dortmund church), confirming the identity of the character
and symbolizing their extinction.
