The Jungle Book revisited

Minyoung Kang’s depiction of a menace-laden paradise captures that moment of uncertainty when the invulnerable suddenly reveals its vulnerabilities.

For just a second, everything moves in slow motion, with an undercurrent of panic at the impending disruption of the existing social order.

Are the leopards going to pounce on the okapi? Are they prancing with glee? Why is the gorilla riding atop the elephant?

Paradise, we are taught, is a state of total harmony.

Harmony is of course, a foundational value of Asian societies, but it can be illusory when it’s based on a forced consensus.